


Across the Stars

by Delitheunicorn



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Conflict, Drama, F/M, Gen, Love, OC, but dunno how the tags work, but yeah it's just friendly and platonic between them, hina - Freeform, it's not really maui/moana, their brotp is showed more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-09-09 13:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8892490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delitheunicorn/pseuds/Delitheunicorn
Summary: Trying to understand something that you've never personally experienced...It's a challenge, but who's to say it's impossible to overcome?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I just ended up loving Moana, it's so adorable...But I ended up loving and adoring Maui himself and reading up more of his myths. Since I'm so trash, I wanted to write a little shippy thing (bc husbando), but since I like Moana being single (and her brotp with Maui is adorable), and I found the myths so interesting, I kinda got carried away in writing this. Sorta a DIsneyfied take on the myths, more or less. 
> 
> (JFC at this point all of you will think i just write crappy Mary Sue shippy fics...Oh well, at least this one has basis in the actual canon)
> 
> If there's anything wrong in the story, please correct me. I tried to research to represent well the stories and cultures so if I missed something simply tell me. (And yes, a few things here and there are changed, I admit it, but they're for story purposes and to fit in better with the canon of the movie (which also slightly changes elements from the myths), so anyhow).

“And then, just as he was about to land his claw over me, he got distracted by a rock!”

“A rock?”

“It was a shiny one.”

The children’s widened eyes would not leave the figure of the demigod, and neither could Moana’s. It was a spectacle in and of itself to see Maui getting so immersed while telling a story. Of course, the tataus helped with any visual aid needed, as they recreated pivotal scenes from their big adventure. The ink would change into small dots representing the kakamora, or turn into the more detailed design of Tamatoa and his shiny lair.

And there they were, mini Maui and mini Moana, playfully playing off one another by retelling their big adventure. Moana just smirked as her little twin made of ink gave her a wink amidst all the roleplaying. She liked her, especially since now, thanks to her, her best friend wouldn’t be so alone anymore.

The children sitting near them wanted to hear more, and they urged by tugging at Maui’s arms and some even hanging at his locks. Others hung by Moana’s skirt, clearly trying their best to catch her attention.

They had been enamored with him, the whole village, the day after they had arrived to the new island. At first they had been wary of the eagle, but once Moana calmly introduced him, they basically threw themselves at him. To see the famous demigod in flesh and blood, just being right there in front of them…!

 _If only gramma could’ve seen this._ But she was there, she knew that, she was sure she was observing all of this with a smile plastered on her face. Which made the girl smile, too.

A clap was heard, and soon her father entered into the fale.

“Alright, we better rest before all of you eventually overwhelm the demigod.”  
  
But the children just cried in excitement as they pounced over the old chief, eventually making him land on the ground.

“Seems you’ve got a battle to deal with on your own, chief...Rather, ex-chief.” Maui passed his tongue over his front teeth as her father tried his best to get up, with Moana’s help. The little ones were restless, but they were manageable.

“Very funny.”  
  
“Is something wrong, dad?”

“Nothing, really, it’s just that the feast will soon begin, and we’d rather our two heroes be present.”

And Maui there puffed his chest the maximum that he could. Moana guessed if he was a rooster he’d be quick to parade around showcasing all his most beautiful feathers.

“I’d be honored, if you want my opinion...”  
  
“We know, we know, we’d love to be drenched in your honor.”

“Well, of course, your Chieftiness...”

“I don’t think that’s a word...”

Soon enough they were in the wide dining fale, surrounded by the rest of the villagers, all gathered around the food. Kava, cooked fish, coconut milk, and many other delicacies made many mouths water, including the ones of our dynamic duo themselves.

And the feast began, with cries of joy, many clamoring for more stories, or japes; and others simply enjoying the food.

And amidst all the cheerful banter, her father gave her the news.

“Haven’t you seen it? There’s a virgin island up ahead?”

“What, you mean close here?”  
  
“Yes, by the left more or less.”  
  
“Wait a second, you mean that one with the prominent mountain in the center?” Maui interrupted, carelessly passing a hand over his mouth. “I’ve been there.”  
  
“Oh, you know?”  
  
“Sure! Rather, it’s been over a few years, but I can get the gist of it. I remember the trees, the trails...”  
  
“The mountain in the middle...Could it be a volcano?”  
  
“Nah. It’s just covered by soot and dirt at the top. But aside from that...”

“Sounds good.” Moana ventured. “So, we depart tomorrow morning?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“...Maybe it’d be a good idea if only Maui and I went.” She began. The elders and her parents looked at her curiously, but she knew the perfect excuse for it. “Maui says he knows the island, but after we found nothing on that second one, we rather not try our luck with this one. We wouldn’t wanna make all of us travel only to waste time. You better stay here and await for our answers.”

“Well, that sounds logical...But be careful. You never know what you might find out there...” Her mother began, but she just smiled sweetly at her.

“After fire gods and giant crabs, a few angry small animals is nothing to be afraid of.” _Nor we should attack them, they don’t know any better,_ but she kept that to herself. It was enough seeing her mother’s tense face change into a calmer one.

A new island...And one that Maui was familiar with. She wondered if it’d be similar to the ones they had already found, or had its own differences. Well, with Maui already being knowledgable, that would put them at an advantage by tracking the land, or observing the fauna and the flora and seeing what could be eatable or not…To not repeat the mistake of that darn jade island, which was unbearable...

She just smiled to herself later on that night as she snuggled up, ready to sleep. Tomorrow would be another day…

 

And off they went the next day, with their parents’ blessing, with the boat ready, with the villagers giving them requests and various warnings, with Pua whining at the shore, with Heihei, fatter than ever, stowing away in the boat (this was really turning into a nasty habit)...But it was all set and done, and the pair were off, in search of new lands, or possible more people, maybe to properly trade with and bond, exchange goods with…

“So you know this island?”

“Oh yeah, years before I had my little tango with Te Fiti.”

Moana at that could only recall the unamused expression on the goddess’ face once she was back.

“Tango? Really.”  
  
He snickered.

“Okay, okay, but you get what I’m saying.” He stopped laughing to look solemnly at the distance. “A small little place, quiet, empty, but I had a good time. Like best days of my life, I imagine.”

“ _ **Some**_ of your best days.”

And he nodded at that.

“True.”

But his previous words seemed oddly...melancholic. Moana found it something curious, but she bit her tongue to prevent her from asking. She knew how would Maui react properly if she delved too deep into his past.

“Well, you can help us, can you? Make it easy for us.” She whispered to the waves, who nodded silently, and rocked the boat softly towards their destination.

Once they arrived to shore, they took a proper look to their surroundings, arming themselves with their hook and spear needed in case they would have to fight.

“Stay here, Heihei. You’ll be safe here.” The rooster just clucked as Moana left him by the boat, but she was sure that the water would take proper care of him.

Once the boat was secured, they took a long look around. They spotted trees, plants, leaves, bushes, shells, rocks, sand, birds and crabs here and there...But…

“It seems empty.”

“It was like that when I first came here, but that was like a thousand years ago. I think some progress would’ve been made in the years passed.”

“Like actual inhabitants?”

“Well, for starters.”

But they couldn’t judge for now. Maybe there were inhabitants, probably just deeper into the trees and away from the shore. Probably if they walked a little deeper they could spot some nearby fales, or a path marked by torches, or…

A scream was suddenly heard, breaking them off their line of thought.

“Okay, second bad signal: the loud scream.”

“If you think the lack of inhabitants is the first one...Although that scream-”

They paused. Another scream was heard.

“Inhabitants or not, sounds like the typical case of a DID.”

“DID?”  
  
“Damsel In Distress. Look it up.”

“We better look her up first, then. If she’s in danger...”

And the two then ran off towards the direction of the screams, which seemed to originate from the left side of the bay. The closer they got to the screams, the sooner they managed to see the overall picture of it all.

Indeed, a woman was there at the edge of a water, holding a large rock in her hands against a grey sea creature at her feet. Next to them was a basket filled with fruits and flowers and herbs that had fallen and spilled all over.

“I swear, Tunamotu, get off me. You’re really starting to bother me.”

“Oh, just now? So you’ve enjoyed my company in all these last months?”

“You don’t get it do you? Get off!”

Moana wanted to move a little more, but something in Maui’s stance made her pause. His hands were tensed around his hook, and he seemed to be muttering something under his breath.

She would’ve wanted to ask him what was wrong, but the woman’s cries and the animal’s sneer was taking her attention away.

She ran closer to them holding her spear high, hoping to attract the animal’s attention.

“Hey! Didn’t you hear the lady? Leave her alone!”

That caught the attention of the two, but the...eel, was it? _It does look like an eel..._ Was none too impressed.

“Ooh, a tiny spear. I’m so scared. Come on, little girl, hit me. I’m sure you can give me a good beating.”

The animal got closer to the woman, while she just receded. The eel was obviously daft, giving its back to Moana so easily, so she just approached them with the spear high above them. If the eel was dumb enough to give its back to her, she could always hit it on its soft spot on the head…

She turned towards the woman, who looked on confused at her actions. She just placed a finger over her lips, and the lady slowly nodded at her in understanding.

But just as she was about to give the big blow…

Something made the spear unable to land. Rather, someone…

Curse Maui and his big hands.

“Hey! What’s up with…”

“Leave it, Mo, this is for me.”

“But I...”

But he completely ignored her as he raised his voice.

“Hey, Tunamotu, seems you and your folk never learn, do they?”

The animal turned its head at that, and its beady eyes widened at the figure of the demigod.

“Maui...I’ve waited for this day for so long! I’ve thought you had died or something.”

The big man shrugged at that.

“Takes more than a few crabs to bring me down.”

“Doesn’t matter” The eel hissed. “I’ve waited for so long to get back at you, for what you did to my brother, and now, finally, revenge is mine.”

“Sounds legit, but I don’t see why did you need to bring up this sweet lady into your complex plans.”

Moana turned to look again at the woman, who seemed to be aghast at the figure of Maui. She didn’t seem afraid, or confused, as she was when Moana first appeared...Yet, there was something in her sight that made her think...She was almost joyful.

“You killed my brother! You’ve got no right to tell me what to do!”

“And your brother had no right attacking this woman, either. And neither do you!”

The eel crawled towards the demigod, ignoring Moana and focusing all its attention on Maui. Moana noticed alarmed how his teeth somehow to enlarge themselves as it opened and closed its jaw.

“She lured him, petty witch that she is, she ensnared and tricked him, and you killed him without remorse...Well, now, valiant demigod, I’ll...”

“I’ll tell you what you’ll do, you’ll crawl into your cave, rest there, and never come near this lady nor any other woman ever again, got it? Otherwise, I will do this.”

Maui got close to the nearest rock in the shore, and gave it such a punch it broke into a million pieces. Moana enlarged her eyes as the bits of rock flew above them, and Maui only massaged his knuckles after such a display of strength.

And to think he had struggled so much with Te Ka and Tamatoa!

“So, that would be you, got it? I’m letting you go just to be merciful, for once. And I don’t want your children coming after me in “reveeeenge” either.”

The eel seemed about to faint, but it simply sneered as it went back into the water.

“I’ll be back...” It hissed before dissolving completely in the water, but Maui was none too amused.

“They all say that.”

But Moana could not get the image of the broken boulder out of her head.

“How did you do that!?”

“Do what?”

“That punch! How...With that punch you could’ve easily overtaken Tamatoa!”

The demigod just shrugged at that.

“I’ve gotten more accustomed to my hook, and besides, it’s just a tiny eel, and I previously fought its brother, so I know how the little bastard works. Now, if you excuse me, Mo...”

“Oh, don’t tell you’ve gone all one punch man on us.”

“One punch demigod, more like.”

“Maui! It’s you!”

The woman seemed to finally react, as she ran towards the two and was inches away of pouncing on Maui. Her smile was just so radiant, almost as she had completely ignored the accident with the eel.

But Maui was flattered at all the attention.

“Who else? You think I wouldn’t come back to see you? Here’s your hero in all his glory, even better than ever!”

Moana held back a smile. She knew It wouldn’t take long enough for his ego to sprout again, but she noticed that at least the woman found it charming, for she smiled and laughed all the same.

“It’s been so long...And I heard so many stories. I was worried you wouldn’t come back...”

“Hah! Storytellers always like to exaggerate. Very few things can keep Maui down...So you shouldn’t worry for me.”

Moana felt a little ignored in the conversation, so she approached the pair warily. The way Maui talked...It sounded like he knew her, but from where? The comments he gave to the eel reminded her of something, but she couldn’t recall what…

Once she was close enough to the two without seeming intrusive, she took a long look to the woman who seemed so familiar to Maui.

Well, even if she was a stranger to Moana, at least she could admit that she had a trustworthy face. Warm, almond-shaped eyes stared right back at Maui’s, while a small smile and wide lips showed just the front of the teeth. Unruled curly brown hair crowned her head, and to top it all off she had wide hips and legs, oh she did. _Good enough for birthing_ _children_ _I imagine._

She wore a sky blue lavalava that covered her from her breasts to her knees, and on her torso there laid a small dark blue tapa over the first cloth as well.

In Motunui she’d be considered an extreme beauty.

“But then, if you’re here...Then...” Her eyes widened. “Then...Te Fiti! It’s true then! Te Fiti’s been restored!”

Maui waved his hair ever so slightly.

“Yeaah, we did that.” Just then he noticed Moana’s presence. “But it wasn’t just me...Well, much. The one who did all the world-saving is our good friend here.”

Then Moana felt like hovering above the ground as Maui’s hands took a hold of her shoulders and carried her off. Soon, she was standing against the woman, who could not keep her eyes off her.

“Ooh, Moana! I’ve heard so much of you, it was so brave what you did...” And then she turned. “The both of you. Not only you saved our lands, you also saved me, twice now, from Tunaroa and his ilk. I am forever grateful for it.”

“Oh, it was nothing, really...We’re glad you’re safe.”  
  
Moana simply smiled, but Maui seemed at a loss for words.

“Y-you still remember?”

“...Of course. That’s why I was worried, I thought you would never come back, it’s been so long, but I still remember...As if it had been yesterday...”

Moana turned her head towards the bay where the eel had previously stood. Her mind was still stuck on that beast, if only because it was the only thing she could partake in the conversation. She was still lost on the whole thing of “remembering” and Maui returning or not.

“You say the eel has been bothering you lately?”

“For almost a month already. I can drive Tunamotu off, but he returns, over and over again...Like he doesn’t listen.”

“You ever think maybe he’s attracted to something of your island?”

She placed a palm under her chin, seemingly lost in thought.

“I guess so. Maybe the fish, or the fruit, or...”

“Maybe an unsuspecting villager.”

“No, that couldn’t be.” She frowned. “I would know.”

“How so? Are you the chief?”

“No, I mean, I would know...They would tell me.”  
  
But the girl noted the woman seemed to doubt her words, and something in the air surrounding them made Moana think. So far, there didn’t seem to be any villagers nearby…

“Well I’d say you better take proper care.” Meanwhile, Maui was in another state. “You knew his brother, and Tunaroa was _not_ one to be messed with.”

“But you made a good deal out of him.”  
  
“Oh yes, the pounding on Tunamotu is nothing on what Tunaroa got...”

Something about her words made Moana question the conversation. How did the villager know? Granted, Maui’s feats were known throughout the islands, told everywhere so she probably could’ve heard something about it. And yet, there was something so...secure of her statement, like if Maui had just told her about it.

...Which he was doing, right now.

“Remember that, after all, that’s how it happened, remember? The reason why we have coconuts is...”

“Oh, how could I forget? It’s our symbol anyhow.”

Maui seemed so enthralled in the woman, Moana felt as if he would fall down any moment now. It was a good thing his hook was supportive though.

“You know, maybe you can eat with us. It gets a little lonely here at times, and it’s not every day our island is greeted by two heroes.”

“A feast! Who doesn’t love those!?”

“We just had one, Maui.”

“Well, another one wouldn’t hurt.”

And the woman smiled at them again.

“Alright, then. I have all that I need here...” She picked up the fallen basket. “And in a few minutes the feast will begin. You two can just...Well, suit yourselves. The island is yours to play with. Maybe you can rest in a spare fale.” She slowly placed a hand over her chin. “We’ll call you when it’s time.”

“Sure!”

“Well, then, Moana, Maui...It’s been a real slice.” She passed a hand over her forehead before leaving, and Maui just waved back at her, completely dazed. As her figure slowly vanished from their sight, Moana’s attention was caught entirely by her friend’s reaction.

She couldn’t help but giggle. It was immature for her, oh mighty chief that she was; but she guessed there were very few times in life where you could see a demigod acting so silly. And this was one of those times.

“You should’ve left me to beat the eel, I almost had it.”

“I know, I would’ve left you...Buuuut...” His mouth contorted. “This is my personal thing, Mo. I’m sure you get that.”

“...I see.” She guessed that was true. “You’re very familiar with her.”

He passed a hand over his neck.

“Oh, she’s just an old friend.”

“An old friend, huh?” The smile on her face was widening more and more with every comment.

“You’ve been secretive about her.”

He kept rubbing the back of his neck; at this pace he would genuinely give himself an itch if he didn’t stop.

“Well, remember the story of the coconuts and the eel? She was a part of it.”  
  
“And you didn’t tell me!? What a shocker!”  
  
“You’re a kid.” He smiled lazily as he turned his head towards the trees. “You wouldn’t get these things.”

“I’m almost seventeen, and the chief; not a kid anymore.” _And I do get it._ She remembered her parents or the many happy lovers she had witnessed in Motunui, and she was quick to understand at hand what was happening. Or rather, what _would_ happen.

But Maui was not to easily swayed. It would take a little more than that to get him to speak.


	2. Introduction

“Heihei, stay calm.” She purred to the chicken, but Heihei would not stop jiggling in her arms. They decided to go back to the boat to check if everything was in order, and while the canoe seemed unharmed, the rooster seemed very alarmed for something.

“Maybe Tonamotu frightened him off, maybe it was too hungry and wanted a little bit of poultry.”

“That’s not funny.” Moana frowned. “Heihei’s not for eating.”

“You think you can put limits on eels...Hah.”

“Well, you just did.” She paused before continuing. “That eel really got on your bad side.”

“Why not? He and his brother just go and harass...Harass her, and I...”

 _I realize that._ But Moana still felt Maui was very mysterious and vague about his relationship with this woman. He hadn’t even given her her name, and she thought that odd.

“Well, chieftess, the boat seems in order, so if you just wanted to come here to hold on to Foghorn Leghorn, well, you can, but I’d reckon we…”

“We need to go inside the island. She promised us a feast, right? You would wanna see her again, wouldn’t you?”

He bit his lower lip, pronouncing his front teeth more than ever, and Moana mentally cheered herself for catching him so easily. _Now if he could only open up about this...But the mystery is also cool in a way._

So they went back to where they met the lady, and further ventured into the wilderness, awaiting to see her at any moment. While they didn’t spot her, they did find a trail guarded by torches, which they supposed would lead them to the villa.

“So more people have come. Last time I was here, it was empty.”

“Except for her.”  
  
“Except for her.” He smiled. “This could’ve been our private little island...”  
  
Moana thought the idea sweet, until something crossed her mind. The last time Maui would’ve been here, was probably before the issue with Te Fiti, and since he stood stranded on an island afterwards for over a thousand years…

Something here was _not_ adding up. Specifically, _her._ No human could live up to a thousand, and yet here she was.

“Maui, is somethin-”  
  
But Moana couldn’t finish, as the mysterious woman suddenly appeared in their field of view, followed by a mass number of villagers. And once the crowd spotted them, Moana felt like being hit by a wave. The old men, the women, the young men…They all launched themselves over the two.  
  
“HERO OF ALL! HERO OF ALL!”, they called, and “You saved us!” was also heard, but Moana’s vision was blurred by waves of brown curls and waving arms.

“Rau! Did you bring this crowd all by yourself?”

She was leaning against a tree trunk, a pretty smirking sloth who found herself in delight at the scene occurring in front of her.

“I didn’t bring them. They just came on their own.”

“Yeah, I’ll believe that.”

What they assumed to be the leader approached them, a young woman with her hair done in a braid and a red lei adorning her neck. They guessed she was the leader, based on how the other villagers moved aside when she came near. Her presence was felt amongst the others, who were one step away from kneeling at her feet, too.

“Moana, tamer of the seas; Maui, shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and the sea, hero of all...Welcome to our humble island.”

The two kneeled immediately once she began speaking. You wouldn’t disrespect a chief, after all, would you?

“Please, my lady...”

“Please, I’m just Kekepania. I should be kneeling at you, seeing as how you saved us all from destruction...And Te Fiti...She just came back...And so did our fruits, the fish, just, just _life_ in general, thanks to you.”

“People seem to know a lot about Te Fiti don’t they?”

“News travel fast.”

Maui reddened as an elderly villager replied back at his whispers. While the other villagers laughed at his reaction, Moana kept tracking back to Kekepania’s words: so if she was right, there were many other tribes and villages who had been indirectly saved once she had given the heart back to Te Fiti...Would legend be told of her from then on, would people in different islands begin idolizing her as a new goddess? Would she be deemed their savior and looked on to save them if another catastrophe surged on the horizon?

She gritted her teeth as she thought of the dark possible outcomes. _But no, I can’t think of that. I must be happy._ The day was beautiful, after all; Maui had reconnected with an old friend and the villagers were enthused to see them, so she’d better play along.

“Rau informed us about this, and we thought if maybe you’d like to be present at this little feast and dance we’ve made in your honor? It’s quite sudden, but I think the situation called for it...”

“Oh, no need for that! We’re just passing by, there’s no hurry really, we really wanted to discuss to you about possible trading with my own village, the people of Motunui...”

“Oh! We’d love that, really, that sounds wonderful. The people of A-te-lepo would love to have a connection forged again with the other islanders, we felt ever since Te Ka ruled the oceans we were not allowed to venture outside the reef.”

“Well...”

“No matter.” The woman smiled. “No, what matters now is to start the feast.”

“Well, we can always start by drinking some kava, if you’re alright with that?”

And Maui nodded to everything this “Rau” said.

“Absolutely! After such a long trip we’d need a good drink.”

Kava was always drunk in special ceremonies like the one about to start, but Moana wondered how long would they take to finish the drinks and the food in the time due. Well, if they were fast as much as their words promised…

“Please, come in, come in! We’ll get things ready in no time.” The chief exclaimed, and the crowd moved aside to let the two pass along.

As the other villagers walked towards the center of the island, Moana and Maui followed suit. The young girl noticed how the demigod paused as he waited for Rau to catch up with him.

As the woman approached, her eyes widened and glittered at the sight of Heihei hanging on Moana’s arms.

“Ooh, is that your chicken? It’s so adorable!” And she hugged Heihei. The chicken seemed oddly relaxed in the woman’s arms, dropping his guard in her presence and his continuos clucks turning into one note tones. Moana felt a wave of comfort within her once she noticed the calmness of the chicken was in fact reflecting the own soothing soul of the woman.

“He seems so happy...”

“He is, he’s a sweet one.”

“You have a hand with him...Rau, is it?”

She nodded.

“My name is Rau...Rau-kura.”

_The red plume?_

“Rau, huh? That’s pretty.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry for not properly presenting you girls...” Maui intervened as he scrubbed his neck again. “I kinda forgot.”

“Oh, that’s alright. It’s better us girls bond between us on our own, anyway.”

“Yuup.”

They walked towards the wide fale where the feast would occur, and they sat down in the middle of the room, inside a wide circle. Rau then turned with the other villagers and returned holding a wooden bowl in her hands as others approached with more food.

“Here, the kava.”

Maui just grabbed the bowl quickly from her hands and poured the drink onto his chin; he didn’t seem to think about Moana’s share, but Rau quickly thought of that as she handed the girl a smaller bowl.

“Drink it, you deserve it.”

And she drank. It tasted foul at first, but she swallowed quickly, and the drink’s taste was easier to digest with the fruit, anyhow.

As they began eating, she noted something odd about Rau’s ordeal.

“How did you know about Te Fiti, anyway?”

It had only been maybe a few weeks or months since the adventure of Te Fiti, and while they were fast sailors, she doubted any of her people had ventured that far into the island of A-te-lepo. Unless Maui in a moment flew in his eagle form to the island to inform her, which Moana doubted, she found it strange.

Rau chewed on her lip as she pulled one of her curls.

“News fly fast.”

The answer didn’t seem to convince Moana, but she couldn’t get another answer out of her for a while as she began to flirt again with Maui, chatting aimlessly with him and giggling at every word he spoke. And he was _delighted_ at all the attention she gave him.

“...And you remember the whole ordeal about the coconuts. So you can thank me...”

“-Don’t start that.” Moana whispered into his ear, dreading the song about to come up.

But the woman just smiled.

“I am thankful, and I can never forget that. Coconuts are so delicious, I could never imagine our diets without them.”

“Well then you-”

He “ouched” as Moana’s elbow suddenly landed on his ribs. _I don’t think this is the moment for a musical number._ The demigod arched an eyebrow at the girl, but their host seemed oblivious of their mute banter.

“Well, I still don’t know something, why are you here? What brought you back here, Maui? Were you in search of the eel?”

“Well, it’s like Moana said to your chief, after the waters calmed down her people could travel once again, and Moana’s folks are interested in making relations with you...”

Moana looked at the lady attentively, as much as Maui did, she figured. The way they held gazes and spoke to each other, the way the woman would lay her eyes for a long amount of time on his chest or on his curls, and he would do the same with her eyes; often ignoring Moana at times, which made the girl feel a little unwanted, but after a while of thinking…

Perhaps it couldn’t be a bad idea. She seemed sweet, and the two seemed to get along quite well. Maybe she could always help fasten up the process…

No, Moana realized an action like that would be unwise. Maui was a grown man, and he could do such as his own, he did not need her interfering in such personal matters.

Once they left the fale, they managed to speak a little bit more.

“Well, I’m glad to see you, anyway. You brighten my day up in a way not even the sun can do so.”

“I imagine.” Yet she looked alarmed at the horizon, where they spotted the sun about to set in. She turned suddenly towards Moana at that.

“The island has a small stream that leads to the river the further deep in the green. We love canoeing over there from time to time, would you like to come with me and the group of girls tomorrow?”

“Oh, oh sure! That sounds fun.”

It did sound engaging, and she wasn’t one to refuse such an invitation. As chief, she had to present herself open to any gifts the other islanders might give her.

“I'm in, too!”

“Oh, Maui, I’m sorry, but...This thing of canoeing only happens between women. It’s not something against you, but if we were to follow tradition...”  
  
“Sure, sure, I get it!” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t wanna interrupt your girls’ day out.”

“You’d need to sleep anyhow, you wouldn’t wanna miss that.”

“True, more hours of sleep never hurt.”

“Well, then, Moana, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.”

And as soon as Moana nodded, Rau went off into the wilderness of the woods, leaving the pair behind.

“That was sudden.”  
  
“Maybe she had to pee.”

“Yeah...Maybe...”

No, she was truly convinced at this point: there was something _fishy_ going on on this island _._ There were too many strange things occurring at once to be simple coincidences. Yet, she could do little more at this point than to play along.


	3. Paint your palette blue and gray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really liked the suite from Attack of the Clones, it's charming...

So, the next morning off they went, with Maui’s snores rising from the hut and Heihei’s soft clucking coming from within her canoe. Moana had risen early alongside the other girls of A-te-lepo and were following Rau’s instructions by the edge of the river.

“Sorry for not appearing at all last night, but I had to do some things here and there. I hope you understand...”

Moana just then noticed what she said was true; despite the long feast and parties they had last night, she didn’t recall seeing the woman at all once the sun set.

Still, she seemed rather upset, so she tried her best to cook up an apology.

“Oh, sure, no worries, no need to apologize...What were you doing exactly, though?”

She just smirked at her words.

“You might be our new hero and the tamer of the seas, but my secrets are still my secrets.”

And she was perfectly allowed to think that, yet...

“I’m not a tamer. The sea is my friend, I didn’t tame it.”

“Really?” She arched an eyebrow. “The sea’s been so unstable and wild all these years, it doesn’t even listen to the moon, who controls its tides, how can you expect it to listen to you?”

“You have to believe it, really. It helps me...And true, it’s not always the most reliable, but when it can, it will help you. I suppose the moon...”

“Well, that can be up to the moon goddess’ will I suppose. She’d need to speak to the water more, I suppose.”

They were canoeing at a fast pace, moving the oars with speed, but Moana wondered if Rau was trying her hardest to avoid their conversation.

“What were you doing yesterday in the water anyway?”

She seemed much more relaxed at that.

“I always like to take a small bath in the shore, for a few minutes, then go back to my chores...But Tonamotu just likes spoiling my fun.”

“He never learns, does he?”

“No, never...Until you put a stop to him.”

“And you had a history with his brother, didn’t you?”

“Oh, oh yes.” She turned and looked pensively at the girl. “And Maui didn’t tell you about it?”

“...No…?”

She had been curious about the story, but the demigod had gotten a little too...excited with the kava last night that he got a little too overwhelmed to tell her about it.

“Well, then, no matter, I’ll tell you.” She gave her back to Moana, letting her hair speak for her. “We met...Many years ago...The island was young...And I, well, I liked to bath in the water, as usual...But one day Tunaroa appeared, and would not leave me alone...”  
  
She was still, but Moana noted how her words seemed to doubt at times. Still, she continued.

“A nasty little git of an eel...It didn’t bother me at first, but he kept biting, and biting, and then...He kept going, and never listened to me...”

Moana kept listening, as her brow deepened. Something in her choice of words made her seem a little...unsure, but Moana was not dumb; she could tell what she was suggesting. _Scum._

But then her face brightened.

“But the next days, Maui came, and I found him on the shore...He was tired, and hungry, and seemed about to faint upon the shore, but I was so happy, I had waited so long to see him ag- to see him, since young, they told me all those wonderful stories of him...”

“Yeah, me too. My gramma loved to tell stories about him.”

She smiled, but something seemed to trouble her.

“But I was...Well, he came anyway, I nursed him and gave him food in my fale, and we sorta… “bonded” in a way the next days.”

“Don’t tell me: he began talking about his feats and his strength.” She smirked, already picturing the image in her head.  
  
“Well, yes, he did...” She chuckled. “He is full of himself.”  
  
“That’s a way of saying it.”

“Oh, but still, I’ve always admired him, and his stories...And he’s so funny and handsome...”

This was turning out to be cuter than it was. Moana felt her grin widening with every word the woman said.

“And he was really grateful for me saving him, I mean I had to...Yet, the next day, after I went to the shore, he returned, Tunaroa.”

“At first I stood quiet, and didn’t tell Maui a thing...”

At that point they had left the canoes and were resting under the shade of a palm tree. While the other girls were sleeping or playing with themselves, Moana and Rau were on their own.

“But he didn’t stop, and he was scaring me...And the next day I told him.”

“Maui.”

“Yes...And he was furious...” Her face changed into her pensive expression. “I had always known of his brave stature, but only then could I see it...He had changed, really. He wasn’t a boy anymore.”  
  
“A boy?”

She shook her head violently at her words, noticing the error.

“He was angry, so angry...He promised me he would gut Tunaroa and make me eat him.”

“And he did?”  
  
“He pulled it, the next morning the eel had returned, he came right there at his encounter. And then, he kill-”

“He killed an eel, buried its guts, a tree sprouted and that’s where coconuts come from.”

“Yes! You know that well.”

She merely shrugged at that.

“He sang that to me when we first met.”

Rau laughed, but Moana was just in wonder at the details of the story. Gramma Tala had told her about it, and so did Maui, but they had never been so...personal. It seemed like a completely different story without Rau. She guessed gramma didn’t know the entire details of the story, or maybe thought it wasn’t a suitable story to tell the children (Suitable for children? Coming from gramma? She found that hard to believe.), and Maui...Well, no wonder Maui didn’t talk of it. It’d be too personal to speak of.

Yet Rau spoke so openly about it…

 _Either way, he’s nobler than I could possibly imagine._ She wondered why he tried his hardest to hide that side with his arrogance, considering so many would find him much more charming if he showed his true facade. _Maui,_ _defender_ _of all and protector of harassed women._ But then again, maybe this was just something personal of Maui, and he’d like to keep it to himself over bragging about it.

Which was the nobler act, once she thought properly of it.

“And after that we ate the coconuts, the very first coconuts...They were delicious.”

“I must imagine.”

“He’s very proud of that anecdote...He always was.”

“Oh, believe me, he still is. Whenever he can, he goes on and on boasting about it.”

And after she knew the exact details, she began thinking that, yes, that story was dear to Maui’s heart, and recalling it gave him the courage and love he always craved. _Then that’s why...Of course, if he had her love,_ _then that doubled for the love of all the humans...He craves it, and he remembers her when he’s at his lowest..._ Moana presumed if she loved him nothing or nobody else mattered to Maui.

The girls that had accompanied the two on the journey were still sleeping or playing along, though one had awoken from her nap and approached the two.

“How about we do some exploring around here? Nani tells me there’s a hidden cave a few steps away that she swears there’s some hidden treasure in there, and we all want to see that.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Then Rau turned to Moana. “Afterwards maybe we can eat a little bit. Fish here and there, oh and of course you must drink and eat the coconuts.”

Moana giggled.

“In my island we all love coconuts, I guess it’s normal, but my father always says the coconut is a “complete” fruit.”

“He is right. The water, the fruit, the milk, the bark, everything is useful and good for you.” And she smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I just have a connection to them, but they’re so good...”

Moana figured; they were probably a part of her diet as much as fish was. _She must be as proud of that story as Maui is; does she think of him whenever she sees a coconut?_

“What else do you do on this island?”

“Well, aside from canoeing, I also like making tapas. It’s relaxing.”

She noted then the tapa over her chest and pointed at it.

“Did you make that one?”

“Why, yes, I had to redo it a few times to get it right, but now the pattern and the colors really work.”

“It looks nice with the lava-lava.”

“Thank you! Maybe before you leave, you can take one of our lava-lavas as a gift. A red one, one that suits you...”  
  
“Oh, you’re too kind, really, Rau...”

The woman smiled slowly, and then hugged her knees close to her chest.

“So your father likes the coconut, huh?”

Moana couldn’t help but chuckle at that. If she could just tell of all the funny occurences in Motunui…

“Well, my mother also thinks of it, though not as “enthusiastic” as he does. Still, it’s something...”

“Of course, we all get our best aspects of ourselves from our mothers.”

The girl nodded. She could start to see why Maui was fond of the lady. She was sweet and offered good conversation...Yet...

There was something inside the girl that made her feel a little uncertain, but she couldn’t say what was it. Maybe the food had made her ill...Or maybe her concerns of yesterday were still there.

“You and Maui...I mean, you...” She tried her best to tiptoe around the words without coming off as intrusive.

But the lady just smiled.

“Tell me, there’s no need for secrecy.”

“So, after the coconuts ended...”

“Oh, I can’t tell you, you’re too young to know that, Moana. But...We had fun.” Then her smiled slowly vanished from her face. “Until he left.”  
  
“For Te Fiti.”

“Yes, and I could never tell him, he doesn’t realize that I’m...I need to speak to him before I leave, too...But before I can do anything, he leaves, and Te Fiti is gone, and so many years pass...I thought he had died.”

“Oh, he’s not dead. It takes a lot more than a few years to kill him.”

“i’m glad of it.” She sighed. “At least I get to see his beautiful hair once again.”

“You think Maui is handsome?”

“Why not? The hair, and the massive body, and those eyes that twinkle whenever he speaks...” She purred, and Moana noticed how the woman began to tremble at her words.

Strange she didn’t think of Maui in that way, anyhow, nor she ever noticed his looks, but here Rau was basically melting over him...

Just then Moana noticed her bare legs under her lava-lava, and all the tataus they had. _Of course, it’s her malu._ She was envious of women who already had them, but she had to remind herself that once, once all this wayfinding and exploring of the rest of the islands could take a pause, she would get hers.

The patterns on Rau’s malu were interesting: she noted a few designs similar to the moon, and the stars, and the night sky...A lot of them seemed to be resembling elements of the night.

“Your malu is very pretty.”

“Oh, thank you. It’s nice to hear that.”  
  
“But what’s with the night motif?”

She seemed upset at the question, and Moana wondered if maybe she had asked too much. Yet she replied truthfully.

“The moon, the stars, the night...It’s always called to me. I could spend hours looking at the night sky and I’d never feel safer than then. I’d rather do all my work at night than at day, but that sounds stupid, I know.”

 _No, I understand._ After all, didn’t she spend day after day pining after the sea, craving for the salty waters to embrace and embark her onto her oh so desired adventure? How she felt at ease when being rocked by the waters than by anything else?

So yes, she could believe Rau’s plight. Rather, she could empathize. Sitting under the moonlight was soothing, after all.

“So I suppose you venerate the moon goddess.”

“Yeah, kinda, sorta? I mean, she does look after all us, I mean...It’s thanks to the moon that the tides work in the first place, that your friend ocean “works”, just, dunno, ask the ocean or Maui, they know better...”

She remembered to ask Maui later about it.

And then, the more she looked, she noted an interesting tatau amidst the stars and moon. Right there, in the middle, there stood a hook.

And she knew that hook better than anyone.

“That’s Maui’s fishhook.”

Rau nodded, apparently not concerned with that revelation.

“Yes, it just...It had to. He’s been an important aspect of my life, and the elders encouraged it, saying it’d be an honor to have a demigod represented in a tatau...”

“Does he know of it?”

“No...But...” Her face brightened at that. “Now that you’re saying it, I might just have to show it to him, good idea!”

Moana smiled at that, though a new concern popped up in her head.

“The elders...You seem well-liked here.”

“I always try to help the others. Look after the children and the weak, weave the tapas and baskets, repair the fales, give advice...The people are sweet, they’re good, and they felt all these years...trapped. They couldn’t get out of A-te-lepo and yearned to travel again.”

She pursed her lips at the woman’s words. Yearning, trapped...Hadn’t her and her people felt the same all those years? Sure, they loved the island, but it was nothing against the calling of the sea, against the tides, against the thirst for adventure.

“I completely understand...But...” She paused. “Maybe, maybe you and your people know about wayfinding? Maybe you have a few boats hidden in caves or some...I mean if you use the canoes for the river, than..”

“No, that didn’t happen. We can travel in the river, because the waters are calm and we're safe in the island. But, then again...At least the boats for the sea, they destroyed them all once, after a terrible accident...In the days of Te Ka.”

Her brow had sombered, yet Moana was curious, though her gut told her she knew the answer by now.

“People...died.”

She nodded, remembering the event.

“They weren’t so sure of the danger of the sea at that point, so a small group went off, and...Only one returned, out of six. They went down with the canoes. And the chief was so angry and saddened, he ordered for all the boats to be burnt and destroyed.”

As if on instinct, Moana’s hand landed over Rau’s. She knew she could do little to comfort her, seeing that happened so many years ago, yet…

“I, I guess I never minded not traveling, since I like staying in the island, but for the others...But I suppose now things will change, thanks to you.”

She would’ve said something, if not for Rau immediately jumping off at the sight of the sunset.

“I have to go, now.”

“But, wait.”

“Moana...Thank you for being so caring and understanding. You’ve listened, and talked to me...And, I feel we can be good friends.”

More than listened and talked, it was like she just came in and dumped all of her problems onto her, expecting for Moana to solve her issues, yet the girl could feel the sincerity of her words.

“If you’re a friend of Maui, then you’re a friend of mine. Maybe even more.” She teased, but her grip on Rau was still strong. “Really, Rau, you’re...you’re sweet, and I’m glad we met.”

“I can see why the ocean chose you.”

She would’ve replied, had it not been for how cryptic her words sounded. Then Moana realized she hadn’t talked much of her own adventures compared to her. But just as she was about to reply, Rau ran off into the wild and vanished from sight.

“Yeah, this is getting weird.”

Amidst all her sob story, Moana noted how there were a few elements that weren’t adding up, but she wasn’t concrete in what was the thing that united all the elements.

The other girls seemed to notice her struggle and came after her.

“Don’t worry about Rau. She always runs off when the night comes.”

“Yeah, maybe she has a strict curfew. Or a bad stomach.”

Amidst all their giggles, Moana felt she could only get her answers from them.

“But she’s good, right?”

“Oh, yes, don’t doubt it. Sometimes I think she’s running up to be the saint of A-te-lepo with her attitude.”

So she was to be trusted, if Moana could trust the girls’ word. Yet…

 

Later on, that night, she went back to the villa, where Maui was awaiting her near his fale.

“Well, chieftess, how did the canoeing all-girls edition go?”

“It was fun! We went up the river, then watched a few palm trees, and then passed by a cave. The girls swore it was filled with gold, but I didn’t see anything.”

“Surely, because Tamatoa passed over there and stole all the gold.”

“How did your day go?”  
  
“Fine! Good stuff. Managed to sleep a little bit...”  
  
“You mean a lot.”  
  
“...Point taken. Then drank a little bit, hung out with the folks that were all over me...A nice day.”

Just then he noticed something.

“And Rau?”

“She ran off, again. Though the girls tell me the island isn’t too big and I’ll see her again tomorrow.”

“Oh well, that’s good to hear.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t wanna miss her.”

It was all but obvious what did Rau think of him. Now, if she could just get the truth out of Maui...

“She’s sweet, Rau.”

He smiled, slowly nodding at her words.

“Sweeter than coconut, I can assure you.”

_Yeah, your “fruit” so to say._

“And you’ve known her for quite a time, huh?”

“Yep, but that’s private business not even Miss-Curly-Haired-Chief can know about. Private matters are private matters.”

“I see.”

Suddenly she had remembered the chat about the moon goddess, how Rau seemed so fascinated about it, and thought now would be the perfect moment to ask about it.

“Do you know of the moon goddess?”

His reaction changed there, from laidback and calm to suddenly stern.

“What...what about her.”

“I mean, you know about her, right? You must, considering you’ve been with the gods all the time, and I was wondering how does she affect the ocean and...”

“Doubt she cares, to be frank. Doubt she cares about anything regarding you, or the ocean, or anything in between.”

That was...harsh. The change of tone was sudden, but Moana noticed it quickly.

“Maui, is someth...”  
  
“No, nothing’s wrong, unless you wanna ask more stupid questions only to receive needless answers.”  
  
“You don’t need to talk to me like that!”

“Well you shouldn’t ask things like that in the first place.” And he ventured inside his fale, leaving Moana alone with Heihei and embarrassment plucking at her feet.

Stupid, stupid, she should’ve known better than to ask like that, she knew how Maui could get with personal issues...But on the other hand, how could she know? She’d never heard much of the moon goddess before, and Maui hadn’t talked about her if she could recall things correctly.

She felt like she was back at square one. A lot of questions zooming in her head, and little to no answers forming around her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, yeah, I named the fic after that suite from Attack of the Clones, I think it fit the story well...

“I’ll be right away.”

That was the last thing he heard to come out of Moana, as he saw her entering into the chief’s fale. They were going to chat for a while, that’s what the girl suggested, and he guessed they would talk about possible trades and partnerships to make between Motunui and A-te-lepo.

So, overall, this would be a long and boring day...For Mo at least. Maui had in mind a few things to do already.

_Sleep, drink, sleep more…_

Not a bad way to start the day. Maybe afterwards he could venture with the locals into the depths of the island, to see how much it had changed in the following years, after the demigod left; but he doubted there would be much differences aside from the obvious appearance of man’s touch.

He would’ve started already with his plans had it not been for her.

There, right at the door, there stood none other than Rau; laying over the fringe, hinting at a mischievous smile at the corner of her mouth.

The sun touched all of her curves, even the curves of her hair...She hadn’t changed much in the years they were apart.

And Maui was not planning on being apart for much longer.

“Hey there, demigod.”

“Hey there, yourself.”

She pulled away a strand of her hair that had suddenly landed over her face. He would’ve liked to pull it away himself, but she did well on her own.

“So you’re taking the day off, huh?”

“Yep, another day to rest and snore.”

“Don’t snore, not now that I’m here, you can sleep any other day.”

And she placed her hands on his chest, at which he gave his small cheer.

“Cheehoo, you really wanna make our time here well-spent, huh?”

“I’m glad Moana can finally talk with the chief. It leaves more time for us.”

 _Time, huh?_ There was something not entirely innocent in her words...And he liked that bit of mischief.

“Let’s get inside. I feel a little tired and would like to lay down for a bit.”

So he let her in, and covered the entrance of the small hut with the cloth. They would need all the privacy in the world, for what was about to happen.

Suddenly he felt a tug at his chest, and turned downwards to see Mini Maui signaling at him. What was he trying to say? He wasn’t going to do anything “evil”, so there was no need to guilt his conscience.

“Cut it down, I’m just gonna get cozy with her, nothing wrong.” He raised an eyebrow at his buddy. “Don’t act like you haven’t missed her either.”

Mini Maui then at that slowly nodded, with a big smile creeping up his face. Maui knew his little buddy better than anyone; if there was a tatau of Rau, he'd never leave her side.

“Come on, Maui, sit down. The rug’s wide enough for the two of us.”

“Of course it is." His smug smile came back as he sat alongside her. "It would be the most honorable rug in the world to host both a demigod...And the world’s most enchanting charmer.”

“Enchanting and charmer are the same thing.”

“They are? I need to look up more about them then.”

Her smile, her laugh, her curls, the way her shoulders slouched down, releasing tension...It was her, just like she had been when he saw her, at the beach the other day, and also years ago, where they joked and pounced under the trees…

Thank the gods, he still had his Rau. _If I’ve got_ _her_ _, then nothing else matters. She’d never leave me..._ Even though he did.

Damn.

“This is comfy.”  
  
“It is.”

There was a small silence in between them suddenly.

“So you wanted to talk.”

“I felt we needed to. Don’t tell me you don’t want to?”

 _Yes, yes, yes! But I don’t know...I can’t think._ It had been a time of bliss, until he had the “fantastic” idea of going off and playing the hero, as if having the heart of Te Fiti would make him even more famous or beloved than he already was. Not like he needed the heart for her, anyhow.

_Funny, I ended up losing both hearts that one day. I wonder why she’s not pissed at me as much as she should._

“Yeah, ok, you’re right, spell it out, I know, I need it: that I committed the biggest screw up in the history of ever, and I deserve all that happened to me. I know.”

“You did. All for playing the role of hero, you went off and vanished for a thousand years and I didn’t know anything! I even thought you had died. You were stupid, that was stupid.”

She couldn’t be any more right. Yet, that small smile…

“Yet, you’re still Maui...”  
  
“No, that doesn’t excuse it.”  
  
“But...”  
  
“But nothing. What I did was stupid, very stupid, and it benefitted no one! I almost never get to see you again, and I...I...well, I just don’t want to be apart from you! ...I’m sorry.”

He began to feel his eyes itching, and his breathing was accelerating. Darn it, he hadn’t felt this in a long time…

“You needed to vent out.”

“We all have our moments.”

“Maui…It doesn’t matter. What happened, happened. But now the seas are safe again, Te Fiti is back in all her splendor, and you...You’re safe. And we’ve met again.”

“...”

“You know, Te Fiti’s heart wasn’t the only one that was stolen.”  
  
He took a long look at her.

“But...You returned both of them to their respective owners.”

_That was terribly cheesy. But hey, I love cheese, so I can’t complain._

“And now we won’t be driven apart.”

Her hands were tiny compared to his, but it felt like a ton of rocks once she laid it over his own fist. Her eyes were pleading at him, filled with hope, with desire, with longing…

“Then, you, you really do care...After what we did the other time, it’s...You really mean it?”

“Why, why not? I mean, can’t demigods fall in love? Can’t they just feel the same as humans?”

 _Hina, Hina, I still can’t get her out of my mind._ But no, he had to concentrate. He couldn’t, nay, _wouldn’t_ let Rau turn into Hina.

“Fall in love? Oy.” She smirked. “You’re beginning to talk like a human.”

“Big talk from a human like you.” But then, was she really human? Living for so many years, and barely changing a thing...

But his thoughts were interrupted by her arms, and her voice whispering into his ear.

“We all commit mistakes, and often regret the choices we make, so often we think we could turn back time, to the moment where we doubted, to make the right choice, the one we felt would be the best...”

She turned to look at him again, this time with a bright smile upon her face.

“Look, Moana told me to show you this. I think you’ll like it...”

She rose her lava lava, at which Maui gasped. Okay, he was ready for anything, but this was a little too sudden.

“Wait, wait!”

“It’s not what you’re thinking, dumdum. Look, the malu...”

And she pointed at all the little tataus covering her thighs, inked flesh amidst the rest of brown. And there, amidst all the other little drawings…

That was his.

“My fishhook! That’s my fishhook!” He cackled. “You made a tatau of my fishhook?”

“Sure, I just felt like it...You’ve always been a part of my life...And the elders encouraged it, too, they’d say it’d be an honor.”

“Oh, it sure is an honor.”

He placed a finger over the hook, and drew circles over it. Her skin was rough, rough from walking often amidst the mud and the sand; but to him it was as soft as the finest petal.

A tatau made in his image…Much like how his own showed up whenever he earned them, after doing great deeds, maybe, this could be compared. A great deed, a great honor, no matter what he did, for her all that he was was a great honor... _No need for my self-esteem issues to rise at this moment._

But, he shouldn’t be so hopeful. He had tried this dance before, and it had ended in disgrace previously. _But Rau is not like, not like her…_ But she proved, this proved something different...He was loved, he was admired, he was desired.

Although...She could always change her mind. It was still bizarre how she wasn’t angrier at him...But then again, those words…

“I...I...”

“Maui...I’m sorry for anything bad I’ve done. I know I’ve hurt you, and I’ve also...I’ve been stupid. I hope you can forgive me. You’re so brave, and wonderful, and caring...”

“Stop, stop...” He whispered slowly, with a lazy smile on his face; he didn’t want her to stop. Yet, something in her words made him pause. “You’ve done nothing to hurt me! You shouldn’t talk like that.”

“I like talking like that. You like it, too...My little brave hero...”

They held their heads close and she passed a hand under his chin.

“Maybe...You can live here, with us.” She whispered. “When you decide to take a rest from your adventures. I’m sure Moana can care for her island, and she won’t mind if you come here, will she?”

“...N-no, I doubt it. She’d be cool with that, she can even come visit here at times if you...”

“You haven’t answered my proposition. I wasn’t asking about her opinion, but yours.”  
  
“I...”

Staying in the island, drinking whenever he pleased, dancing with the women and the men, telling stories up till late...And laying with her every night, like they had done so long ago...A proper home, a proper family…

But, no, he couldn’t deny Motunui either. The way Moana had introduced him to her people, the way the elders venerated him, the chidren tugging at his skirt, trying the food cooked by the men...And of course Moana, he couldn’t deny Moana, and how she had changed his life.

_Heh, stuck between two women...Just not in the way you’re expected to._

“So? You’ve gone silent.”

“I’ll have to think of it...”

“Oh.”  
  
“...But, I do like the idea. I mean, A-te-lepo is a fine place, after all.”

That seemed to calm her, as she laid her head on his chest.

“Maybe, I can finally set this right, and correct my error.”

“Error? What error?”

She shook her head at his questions, and brought him a new plea.

“Hug me”, she said.

“Hold me”, was what he needed. And what he replied.

And they did, pressing their foreheads and noses close together as they embraced. Maybe now, they would finally find peace.


	5. Chapter 5

She felt exhausted, but she had done the right thing. If they hadn’t talked, then this whole trip would’ve gone to waste in the first place. And Kekepania was, thankfully, understanding of any shortcoming.

“Not bad for the new chief; I held a diplomatic chat and didn’t make a mess out of myself.”

She placed a finger over her lips. “Now, if things go as well as I hope, we can bring a new set of canoes in about a fortnight.” _I hope so._ It put a dent on their plans for the folks of A-te-lepo to not know about wayfinding, but Moana could not blame them, if the stories were to be true, and not simple rumors…

 

Back in the hut, the two had fallen asleep cuddled for a few hours already. His nose rested on her hair, inhaling the scents of hibiscus and bananas. Meanwhile, she would not stop holding on to his massive fist, even if her hold softened while asleep.

Then, she woke. She poked at his cheeks to get a reaction out of him.

“Maui, wake up...Do you know what time it is…?”

The demigod shrugged and then yawned, his wide teeth showing all of its splendor.

“Dunno...But I’m feeling hungry. Maybe we could eat some pork, or drink a little bit of...”

“It isn’t the morning, you know. I think it’s about the afternoon.”

She crawled towards the entrance of the hut, where she could see the sunlight from. And it just so happened that…

“It’s starting to set in...Hmm...”

“Come on, Rau, come back, we can sleep a little more...”

“I think we’ve slept enough now. We should do something else, talk of something else...Now that we have all the time in the world, to be together again...Maybe build a shack together...I can make the roof and teach you recipes of the island...”

“Well, yeah, but once the deal with the chief finishes, Moana will go back to her island, and...”

“You’ll go with her.”

He scratched his head as he tried to think up of a reply; but only then, just then, did he notice her lowered head.

“Maui...You don’t recognize me, do you?”

“I, what do you mean?” He paused, finally rubbing the sleep off his eyes. “Rau, are you ok?”

“You really don’t...” Her voice died there, and her eyes lowered even more.

“I mean, if it’s about the island I can...”

“Forget about that.” She turned hastily away from him. “I’m sorry, it’s getting late and I really need to go.”  
  
“Go? Go where?”  
  
She turned, and her expression changed from upset to determined.

“Come with me. Up in the mountain. Please, quickly! You mustn’t be late for this!”

“But Moana...”

He couldn’t finish the sentence for she was already gone, leaving the hut and vanishing between the rushes.

“Hey, wait! You can’t leave me like that! Oh no! Not again!”

He was just about to run after her when Moana’s voice flowed in the distance. The girl was just waking towards the hut as stared bewildered at the scene in front of her.

“What happened?”

“Rau’s been acting strange! She wants me to go to the mountain or something right now.”  
  
“So? Let’s get going!”

As they ran, he felt Moana trying her hardest to ask him questions about the recent event.

“What did you tell her? Di-did you anger her?”

“I dunno! She just ran off and couldn’t tell me why...”

Soon enough the young chief was riding the demigod, now in his eagle form, towards their destination. While the sky was getting darker by the minute, they could not find the moon anywhere. They just hoped the village’s torches were lit long enough for them to visualize the trail…

At last they arrived to the top of the mountain, where they were greeted only by mounts of rock, dirt, and Rau, sitting a few feet away from them.

And once she saw them, she rose from her seat and walked towards them.

“WAIT! Stop, please, Rau, just...”

“I didn’t expect things would go this way, but you leave me no choice...” She slowly blinked. “I must come clean.”

She extended her hands towards the north, and shook wildly her head, her hair flying and covering over her face. In a matter of seconds, where Rau stood a different woman was in her place. Admittedly, Moana believed she looked similar to Rau, but there was something different about her…Maybe the smaller eyes or the longer mouth or sharper features or...

Besides the silvery grey colored hair, but that went without saying.

But Maui knew. Of course he knew.

Rau looked meekly at him under her mane of wavy locks.

“You recognize me now, Maui?”

And as on queue, the moon suddenly appeared, bathing the three of them under its light. Moana swore she had never seen the moon so shi- _no, not that word-_ so translucent before.

But Rau was in bliss, showered by the light, while Maui…

He had just discovered the missing piece of the puzzle.

“...Hina.”

Moana looked at Maui’s face, still, shocked and even hurt; and then at her again. Hina, Hina...She had heard that name before, but where? She swore she had heard it…

But only by looking at the moon did she finally understand. The moon, his reaction, even the way he reacted the other day when she mentioned her…

_Damn it, the moon goddess...She’s her…_

“Yes, Maui. It was me.” She whispered to a strand of her hair. “You didn’t recognize me, huh.”

He was silent, and took a while to properly reply.

“I...I didn’t know you...You could change.”

“You never asked me about it.”

He was still, Moana noticed how he seemed to be shaking, and he was even lacking a voice to properly speak. What was wrong with him? She’d never seen Maui so, so...shaken.

Moana then turned her attention towards Ra-I mean, Hina, who seemed unaware of the demigod’s plight.

“I cannot fully work without the aid of the moon, so I needed to find a way to live during the day. My human disguise helped me dressed as another ordinary woman amongst the people. And to meet and embrace the humans, the families on this island...” She licked her lips as she paused. “My form varies depending on the state and mood of the moon, and my human form on the sun, of course.”

“But they know. The humans, I mean.” Moana pointed out, feeling she’d have to talk right then, considering was as still as stone.

“Oh, they do. They know of Hina, but they do not know Rau-kura and her are the same.”

“You. You are her, both of them.”

She smiled, never leaving her eyes off Maui.  
  
“That’s true, yes. But now, well, Maui, now we’re together again.”

“...How-how would you think I’d react to this.”

“Maui...”

“You leave me, you left me, and you just played games with me with your dumb dress-up.”

“Maui, please, no...Don’t think like..:”  
  
“I wanted you. I always wanted you. But I understood when you said no, but now...You come with this?”  
  
“Maui...”

She paused.

“I’d love to, but I...I must eventually return to the moon. But now I had to think and….”  
  
“Doesn’t matter! I would’ve waited, I’v waited to see your other form for years, and here we are! I could’ve done so if you’ve just said so! You don’t get to lie and make things so complic-”  
  
“That’s not it, Maui...If I go, I may not return.”

Moana was absolutely lost at all of this. How did they know each other? Was what Maui babbling about? She wasn’t so surprised at the common Rau being a disguise of the goddess Hina considering the new revelations that were pouring out every minute.

“Are you playing with me? Are you fooling me? Because this joke is not funny.”

“No, it’s not a joke...I never forgot those meetings we had when you lived among us, nor the rope, and how we dealt with Tunaroa...And I lived on with my life, hoping to see you one day again...And here you are.”

“If you cared you wouldn’t play with me in this way, nor contradict yourself every five minutes. You cared for me? You cared for us? You really loved it?”

“I dunno, I think I love everything. I love you, I love the islanders, I love the women with their baskets and their gossip, the children with their muddy knees, the fat hen you brought along, the breeze hitting the trees, your sweet friend Moana, who’s a gorgeous, brave girl...”

Now it was Moana’s turn to blush. Where was the goddess getting at?

“I’m still very confused.” The girl ventured.

“But if I return with the others, I’ll go back to the moon. The moon is beautiful, yes, but empty. I won’t be with you anymore.”

“You can always come back, nobody is forcing you to stay up there...Except you and your noble cause...”

“I must, if I go, I’ll be one with the moon...”

“One with the moon?”

“Yes, Moana, I can control it. I need to be close to the sky, that’s why I left early as the sun set, to arrive on time. I must bring forth the moon, and if I don’t do it, as the sky darkens...Well, better not, I guess.”

“So why didn’t you tell us this thing earlier? There’s no need to hide this from us...At least from him.”  
  
“I...” She held a lock of hair in her hands. “I was worried of how he’d react, and I didn’t have time, and...”

“Yeah, you’d think it’d be funny to see my reaction, huh? That you’d get the last laugh out of it.”

“Maui...No...”

 _She’s hurt, but he’s also hurt._ She was slowly getting the gist of it, but she understood what had happened, and what did they mean, goddesses and moons aside. And Maui’s reaction...It reminded her so much of the day, back in the canoe, where he told her the truth… _His origins...This is his origins all over again._

It all made sense now, it was clear as water.

“Do you love me, Maui?”

“ALL MY LIFE! How can you-I forget, I asked you to marry me ages ago!”

“And I never forgot...I...I regret. I wished I had...” She paused as she saw Maui’s eyes brighten. “But I can’t truly leave. The moon needs me...”

“Well, Hina...” She looked down as she interrupted the pair; while Hina was not as big as Te Fiti, it still felt wrong for her to directly address her, for the two goddesses were equally massive and grandiose. “There’s no need for you to go. You can manage the moon from the island alone...Te Fiti is with us, in her island, and while she...” 

“I know about Te Fiti. It’s what she chose.”

“But you can choose, too.”

“...We’ll talk about this in the morning. I need to take care of this now.”

Maui was sullen, but the woman seemed insistent; so Moana simply grabbed the demigod by his forearm and pulled him away.

“Sure, suit yourself.”

 

A few moments later, the undertow nibbled at their feet while the cool night breeze played with their hair. The two had walked down to the shore to calm down and ease their thoughts. Well, Moana was calm; it was Maui she was worried for.

“So...”

“So nothing.”

“...”

She wasn’t thinking of ending the night in silence, either.

“The ocean looks beautiful, yes, but I want to talk of something else.”

“What else can we talk about? I just discovered the two women I’ve ever loved were the same person all along. What should I think about that!?”

“...I suppose it makes things easier!”

But he was in no droll mood to accept her quips. The girl frowned at his silence.

“I’d understand if you don’t want...”  
  
“How can you understand? You’ve never been in love, how can you know!?”

She jumped in her seat at that.

“You won’t make things easier if you just snap at me like that!”

Thankfully, he noticed his reaction fast and took her reply well. His brow softened as he looked out towards the ocean.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t...I don’t know. I didn’t know what to expect. I shouldn’t lay it on you though. Not your fault my life is a mess.”

She sighed at his words. She knew where would this go...

“Your life is not...It’s okay...I mean, I’d understand if you’re not up to talking about it, I guess, I’d be pretty pissed too...You’re perfectly entitled to not want to talk about it.”

“...It’s a long story...It goes way, way back.”

She placed a hand in the sand between them and looked pensively. The sand was cool beneath her fingers, yet she knew the tension of the story would warm her.

“I’ve got the whole night to listen to it.”

The comment brought a smile out of him, so Moana guessed this would make things easier.

“...We knew each other, long time ago...Back before I went off in any adventure or quest, when I was still chilling with the gods...And we knew each other.” He smiled slowly. “And like all good hero stories, we just...Well, I...”

“You’re getting red.” Moana smirked. It was rather adorable seeing the mighty demigod getting all flustered over such a little matter.

“We were young, we were innocent...I asked the permission of the other gods, and they agreed to it...And well, we were young, we loved to play and talk for hours...She...She made the rope with which I used the hook to lasso the sun to...”

“Oh! So that’s how you did it?”

“Yup. A very resistant rope, she made it with tree bark and strands of her hair, and it worked for a long time.”  
  
“Worked?”  
  
He shrugged.

“It eventually snapped. I guess time took a toll on it, although it did work well for over eight hundred years. At least, I’m glad it didn’t end up in Tamatoa’s hoard.”

“No, we would’ve noticed it, wouldn’t we? At least you would.”

“Yes.”

“….So, she helped you with the rope.”  
  
“Yeah. That rope also helped me with pulling up the islands.”

“Oh...I guess this was very early.”

“Yeah, very early. When I first started out, and hung out with the gods more. And with her...”

“So...”  
  
“Well, I was nervous, but I asked the permission of the elders, and they seemed accepting of the idea, and then I asked her...to marry me.”

Moana pursed her lips at that. The water nibbling at their feet was getting colder, but she couldn’t retrieve from this moment.

“I didn’t know...”

“Well, seeing how things are, you can guess what the answer was.” He sighed as he tussled his hair. “It’s not a heroic deed, so it’s understandable why do the legends not talk of it.”

Even though Maui sounded calm and respectful about it, she could note the depression underneath his words.

“I was young, I was insecure...I still am insecure in a way...And she didn’t give a concrete answer as to why. You can imagine I thought up a lot of different ideas as to why she said no. That I wasn’t good enough, too low life, too ugly, too ...too human for a pure, beautiful, perfect moon goddess like her.”

 _Oh, Maui, no._ They were threading on strong waters there. A wrong comment, and she could easily lose him. Yet she didn’t tremble as she took on the first step.

“But, then... Did she really love you? Maybe...Maybe she didn’t feel that way. Maybe...” _Careful, careful_. “...Maybe it was unrequited.”  
  
“No, it was genuine. It really was...I like to think so.” His brow softened. “But she’s always been a career-focused gal, all gods are in a way. Duty over love, you know? The honorable thing.”

Yes, she could relate to that, at least. Finally there was a topic in this conversation in which she didn’t feel null about.

She noticed something about this whole issue that he hadn’t talked about.

“There isn’t a tatau about this.”

“Oh, there is. Right here.” He pointed towards the lower region of the left side of his chest. “Dunno how Mini Maui takes seeing her everyday.”

And there, almost unnoticed, was the tatau in question: a full moon amidst a sparkled night sky. It was barely a thing, yet it told Moana enough.

“It’s there, as a reminder, watching over all the other tataus, just like she does so every night. Judging me, watching over me...”

“Protecting you.”

He shrugged while he lowered his arm again.

“So, then, I guess this explains why she left early every day...And took care of the people in the island...And Te Fiti! Maybe…”  
  
“That the gods converse amidst themselves? Yeah. Probably Te Fiti went to them or sent a messenger, and the memo surely got to her.”

“Hmm...But you met her afterwards, didn’t you? Rau- I mean, Hina.”

“Well, yes. No...Well, yeah, the first time, in this island, where I beat the eel...Only to save her. And that’s another story.”

“I know, she told me.”

He arched an eyebrow at her, at which Moana simply shrugged.

“We have to come clean tonight, don’t we?”

“Pfft...If you say so...But now, now I don’t know where things are going. Now’s all this nonsense about secret identities and moon traveling that I’m just getting lost in this.”

“A god’s whims are often difficult to comprehend, or even to rationalize or moralize.”

Gramma Tala used to say that whenever she told Moana any of the old stories concerning the gods, and while as a child she might have found that counsel confusing, now she could see the truth in it.

“You should know, you’ve lived with them.” She couldn’t help holding out a little smirk at that. He just gave her a little smile in return.

“Yup, in this case humans are easier to understand.”

She gasped as she thought of the next thing she was about to say.

“...But you still love her...”

“I dunno? I guess...It’s been so long, and so much crazy stuff has happened since then...I was stuck on an island, I met you...”  
  
“Oh, I’m crazy?”

He raised his eyebrow towards her, that old playful smile of his emerging once again.

“Crazy, but unforgettable. If it wasn’t you wouldn’t have a place of honor amongst the other tataus.”

She playfully nudged his arm, remembering vividly the image of Mini Moana playing with Mini Maui a few days ago.

“But you never forget your big love, especially if she’s just like...She’s still there, watching over me, hearing about my activities...And I thought, that I was with Rau, that it felt special again, and I’ve just been fooled all this time...”

 _Then, did he do all of his heroic deeds to impress her?_ Maybe he wanted to win the heart of somebody else besides the humans, but she was too caught up in her silver hovering globe to look back at him. But if Moana could make the timeline correct, if seemed some of Maui’s brave deeds had occurred after her “rejection”...It was obvious the pulling of the islands and the sun was very early, when she was around...But then all the others...Then, did he do these acts to impress her, to forget about her, or to search for the love he had been denied?

Abandoned by his birth parents, rejected by his first love...Who knew Maui’s rabbit hole could go this deep? _No wonder all of this affects him._

But, on the other hand, if she had stood all this time on earth, for no reason whatsoever, and then bonded with him, and Moana guessed had actually asked Maui to live with them…

This was too confusing...Maybe, maybe Hina was just young back then, and didn’t feel secure about a marriage, but now, she had grown and matured... _She’s balancing her options. She loves her duty, but she also wants a normal life._ Maybe that’s why she had stood on the island for so long; she was lonely in her moon work and craved for the friendship of others, even if they were simple mortals. Maybe she did truly love him and regret her decision, but had no way of telling him till now.

Thinking about this brought her to mind another story her gramma had told her years ago, one that she remembered the children liked a lot to listen to...About unconditional love and strength...

“My gramma once told me something, that I think it could work...Love is said to be stronger than habits or circumstances. I think it is possible to keep yourself for someone for a long time and still remember why you were waiting when they come at last. For your heart to still beat as if it was the first day.”

“Is that genuine, or are you just referencing the author’s favorite book?”

She giggled at the little joke, because one could not let that little reference go.

“A little bit of both, but the point still stands. If she loved you, if you loved her, truly, then you’d be willing to talk, to listen, to think your options over...The both of you.”

It took him a long while to answer, until he finally laid down on the sand.

“My body feels like it’s being crushed by a thousand rocks.”

“Maybe she wants to be crushed under your rock.”

But she bit her tongue as Maui looked back at her, with his characteristic eyebrow slightly arched.

“That’s private matters, missy.”

“Oh, please, she hasn’t been shy about it.”

At that he simply threw a bit of sand at her face, at which she laughed, and grabbed a bit of her own. If he thought she wouldn’t defend herself against a sand attack, he was sadly mistaken.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, first, thanks for all the kudos and sweet comments! I appreciate them.
> 
> Second, sorry for taking so long, but I was busy with irl stuff and other writings that take a toll on me. I hope you can understand that.
> 
> Third, yeah, Hina is a character from the myths. Sometimes she's the mother/grandma/sister of Maui, other times she's his wife. Maui had in the myths two wives (not at the same time, but I can't be 100% certain; then again, some polynesian cultures accepted polyamorous relationships/marriages, so who knows), Rohe and Hina. While Rohe's cool and all, I gravitated more towards Hina. I've taken a lot of stuff from the myths and different cultures to write the story, but a few things here and there are my own thing (her whole "human identity" thing, Hina doesn't have one but I thought, since she has different forms and attitude depending on the state of the moon, i presume she'd also have a form when the sun's out). From there, the whole thing of disguising as another girl is my own thing. Not the name, though. Rau-Kura is another alias of her, but i thought it'd work as her human alias.

The sun awoke them the next day, with such brightness Moana was sure it was a reprimand for staying last night up so late. Even so, with her eyes blinking rapidly to sooth the pain, she could not deny the calming sensation it felt to wake up just right at the shore. She guessed they were lucky the tide hadn’t overtaken them in the night.

She turned to Maui, who was giving her his back.

“Wake up, mighty demigod.” She gave him a little kick to get a reaction out of him.

But he simply shrugged at her, which made her frown.

“Come on, you can’t spend the whole day sleeping.”  
  
“Watch me.”

The demigod would not move, so Moana simply pushed against him, even if a wrong turn from Maui would end up crushing her.

“Alright, alright, curly, I’ll be up soon. Once McNuggets clucks away.”

“It’s way too late. Roosters don’t cry at this hour.”

Maui at that growled and shook, and he rose up at that moment.

“Let’s get going then. You wanna fatten up your belly I guess.”

Once they walked back to the village, Moana wondered if now was the right time to ask him more questions, but he obviously wasn’t in the mood: the bags under his eyes and the manner his back slouched under his hook told her enough.

As much as she bit her tongue, a million thoughts flew over her head. She remembered everything the demigod told her last night, and the pieces fell in perspective: they were together once, but they broke, but then she appeared again, masquerading as another woman...Incidentally turning into his second love…

 _Confusing, but I get the gist of it._ It’s no wonder he still wasn’t so sure of what to do. If she was in his shoes, she probably wouldn’t want to see her again, in any of her forms. _A strong love...T_ o be broken in one moment...Only to feel it again...Yes, she wouldn’t want to deal with Hina either.

“Oh, chief Moana! Maui!” A voice called to them, and Moana recognized it as belonging to one of the girls she went canoeing with. “You’re quite late, but, would you like to eat with us? The men are cooking a little bit of everything for the good day we’re having, and maybe you’d like to eat with us?”

“Sure, we’ll be there right away...Also, have you see my rooster? Heihei, he’s fat, big and...”

“The little chicken? Sure! Rau took it with her, I think they’re sleeping together in her hut.”

“She’s a bit of a Sleeping Beauty isn’t she? It isn’t the first time she sleeps late.” Another girl commented.

Moana looked at Maui and he only shrugged at her. She thought of maybe entering and taking Heihei, but she guessed she would wake up Rau in that manner. Heihei would like the sleeping woman and silent atmosphere, anyway.

“So, what do we do now?”

“I dunno.” He shrugged. “You’ll have to keep talking with the chief making the new orders for the boats to come. I’ll wait, and once that’s over, we leave.”

“...And you oh so conveniently left out an important matter.”

“I didn’t.”

She arched an eyebrow at that.

“Yeah, I suppose I’d like to not talk about my lost girlfriend either.”

He really wasn’t in the mood to continue, so she simply desisted. She had other things in mind, anyhow, like finishing to speak up with Kekepania about the deal.

“Good day, chief, mighty demigod.”

_Oh._

“Hi, ...Rau.”

She had risen from her hut, walking lazily towards them. Maui diverted his eyes towards another direction as she approached them.  
  
“Forgive me for sleeping so late, I felt a little tired last night and well...Sometimes you just can’t help yourself when you drop over.”  
  
“Yeah, sure...”

“By the way, Moana, your little chicken is resting at the fale. Oh, he’s so sweet to cuddle with, so fluffy...”

“Uuuh...I’m glad you like him.”

“Well, I better help the others with anything. I guess we’ll be seeing each other soon.”

“Sure...”

She left, waving back, though she noticed how poorly Maui was doing in trying to ignore her.

“She’s acting as if nothing happened last night.”

“Well, nothing did happen.”  
  
Moana knew she wasn’t very good at lying, but it was passable compared to the demigod’s “indifference”.

“Well, you know...”

“Acting indifferent is her default mode.”

She clicked her tongue. She knew this would be the proper reaction to the whirlwind of emotions felt last night, and she feared this would be a long process for him to fully accept.

“You don’t need to demean her, either. You shouldn’t act like...”

“Listen, Mo, I’ve learned to appreciate your input and your strength, but I _do not_ need your armchair psychology in matters like this.”

“Arm-chair?”  
  
“This is my own boat, and I’ll get to sail it, on my own. Thank you very much.”

His stubbornness would only worsen the situation, though she wondered if, given enough pressure and suggestion, he would probably reconsider his options.

Listen to his wounds or listen to his head, to his yearnings, to his desires...To be the young demigod again, the one who laughed and played along with the younger Hina…

“Hmm, Chief Moana?” A young man called to her, breaking her thought process. “Our Chief is ready to speak with you.”

“Oh, alright then. I’ll be right away.” Her head turned toward Maui’s figure and nodded in his direction. “I won’t take long.”

Of course, that’s what she promised, now whether she could maintain that promise was yet to be seen.

“Good day, Moana.” The chief greeted her upon entering the fale, with the woman giving her a small hug and a wide smile.

“Good day to you, Chief.”  
  
“Just call me Kekepania, please. It’s alright.” She directed the girl towards the end of the fale, where her advisers and elders of the island would be waiting for them.

“So, what we were saying last night...”

“Oh, yes, about the boats...Well, we only have the canoes we use for fishing and to go up the river, but you say your people have them in spades, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes we do, I don’t think it’d be a problem to help you move, some of us are learning about their proper build of them so we can replicate them and reproduce more, and maybe some of your people would be interested in learning of the trade.”

“But, I object...” Exclaimed a villager. “Are we sure the waters are safe again? Who knows, maybe it won’t be safe the next time...”  
  
“No, I promise you, the waters are safe again. Te Ka is gone, and the monsters have laid to sleep in their underwater caves.” She tasted the words; she found them very convincing. Yet, maybe it would take more to sooth the villagers…

“It’s true.” A voice began. “Everything’s calm and the bugs from Lalotai won’t think of ever erupting to the surface again.”

Maui had entered into the fale, the sunlight filtering through the entrance framing his large figure. The villagers quickly changed their expressions from doubt to enthused.

“It’s Maui...”

“Oh, Maui...”  
  
_I know exactly why he’s in._ He’d do anything to avoid making eye contact with Rau, in every way possible, he’d even insert himself into something that did not call for him.

“You can sail, wayfind, whatever you want to call it, the waters safely again. The people of Motunui have done so in the last weeks and there hasn’t been any problem whatsoever.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying.” Moana added. “And we have enough boats to share with you, we can even teach you how to build them.”

“But you’re still not getting to an agreement, right?”

“...We’re still in doubt. Our people haven’t sailed since the times of my grandfather, and I’m a little scared of rushing in a dangerous situation...” Kekepania seemed more interested in the faces of the elders than what Moana and Maui said. The young girl wouldn’t blame her, she’d understand why would the chief prefer to listen to familiars over two strangers who just arrived.

 _But we are not strangers, not at all._ Maybe not to herself and to the people of Motunui, but definitely to the folks of A-te-lepo. How could they trust these two, when they came over offering new and probably dangerous ideals for them to try?

_But, if they do not move, they will die. Or at least, they’ll get stuck here. And the others were looking forward to meet up with other villagers…_

“Well, maybe it wouldn’t be wrong to try. We have lots of fruits here, the old legends say coconuts originated from this island...”

“Yeah, wouldn’t I know of that.” Maui whispered to himself, and Maui felt his muscle tensing under the disguise of humble denying.

“...Lots of fish swim around here that the fishermen have this idea that they don’t swim in other parts of the ocean.”  
  
“Can that happen?”  
  
“Yes, I suppose so.” The chief held a hand over her mouth. “I guess we have an abundance of food and game in this island, and we can help...I’m sure you’ve got a lot of your own food and matters to trade with, as well.”  
  
“Yes, we do! Coconuts, bananas, pork...Although you may have that, but...”  
  
“No problem! The more, the merrier!”

Moana’s eyes brightened at that.

“So then…?”

So then, amongst the pondering, the words, the expectations...

A few hours later…

“Not bad for your first diplomatic trade, young chief.”

“Oooh, I couldn’t have done it without you, mighty demigod.”

The nightsky had covered the island in the time being, a cold blanket over the warm earth, and Moana was certain by the breeze playing through her hair that Rau had probably ditched her mortal costume and taken again her nightly identity.

“Well, once you know the basics and the tools, you know how to work the marble.” He waved a hand. “Know the rules, know the shortcuts, which words to use properly and which not to.”

“Yeah, it’s not too difficult. I think you can get most things done by talking.”

“Says the hopeful idealistic side of you.”

“But it’s not a dumb ideal.” She crossed her arms over her chest as she took a long look at the demigod. The torches amidst the village were being lit as they spoke, yet his figure was as dark as the mountain.

“So, what do we do next?”

“Well, tomorrow I’ll coordinate with Kekepania about all that’ll be needed, and then I’ll board the boat and go back to the island. I’ll alert my parents and the villagers and in the next days they’ll start connecting and trading off. The idea is for the people of A-te-lepo to learn to sail properly...Oops, to “wayfind”, as you say it.”

“You’ve got it all planned out.” 

“I have to.” She shrugged. “Either way I guess I can have one last night of relax. I eat a small little thing, cuddle with Heihei in the night, and leave early next morning after the talk with the chief. The earlier I leave, the more time I’ll have to do other things.”

“I guess I better help you with the boat, then. Drumsticks will also need to get his fill and-”

“Uupupupupup. Who said anything about you leaving?”

She knew his expected reaction to that would be an arched eyebrow and a pursed mouth, but she was strong with her ideals. She would leave, of course she would, she had nothing else to do here, but him…

“What are you trying to say, Mo?”

“You need to stay, somebody needs you more than I do.”

_And 3...2...1…_

“Ooooh, no.”

“Ooooh, yes.” Her decision was firm, she was _not_ going back on this. “I know you don’t want me to interfere but I feel you need it. I have no further obligations to be on this island, but you just need to finish a few things.”  
  
“Oh as if she wants to talk.”  
  
“Maui, how can you say that of her? You have changed, why won’t you think she’s changed as well? If you leave this will just worsen everything.”  
  
“As if she hasn’t already. Forget it Mo, I won-”  
  
He didn’t finish, for as he tried to grab on to his hook, a mischievous little wave pulled the hook out of his hands. Moana tried her best to hide her smile, but she couldn’t help herself as she snorted. She would not change her mind until he at least gave her a glance.

“Really? Burying my hook under the sea? That’s really not funny at all.”

“Oh, I think it’s clever.” She then crossed her arms. “But, really, it won’t take long. It can maybe be this one night and then you’re finished. Please...”

She would _not_ move until he did...No matter even if that meant she’d had to stay up the whole night. Even if all the torches in the village blew out, she would still stand still, impassive in front of him.

“...I hate you.”

“Well, I love you.”

 

 

 

A few hours later, they were again at the mountaintop. Hina was under the light of the crescent moon, busy on her own weaving a tapa. That day her hair was mostly brown, except for one strand that carried a silvery blue shade. Moana quickly took notice of it. _Her hair changes according to the_ _phase_ _of the moon._ The other night had been a full moon, and her hair reflected the same rays. That night, the moon was a scab, thin and large, eaten by the clouds and shadows of the night.

“Maui, you’ve come...”

She left the tapa behind and approached him, and then held Maui’s hands with her own. They were so little compared to his, but he seemed to have lost all his strength when she touched him.

“I’m glad you came.”

“Well, Maui, I’ll be waiting for you down at the village. Have fun, you two.”

“Sure, take care Moana.”

 _Clever girl, she got it all planned._ But she was already gone before he could try to stop. Now he was alone, alone only with her, her and her spirit and her memories.

“I’m glad we’re alone, Maui. I’ve waited for this moment.”

Hina sat across him, and he followed suit, leaving his hook to the side. The earth was warm under his feet, even if the moonlight painted the earth the color of snow. She did not divert her eyes from him, but he tried his hardest to avoid eye contact with her. Yet, that one silvery curl amidst her sea of brown hair was so distracting…

“You’re silent...So dour. Food’s got you ill, hasn’t it?”

He’d like to talk, he would adore to respond, but something made him hold back his tongue from replying.

“It’s the weather.”

“It’s just a little cold, no need to be freezing either.”

She arched an eyebrow as she stared at him. _Good try, but mine’s better._

“You’re pissed.”

“Gee, how do you know?”

“I’ve known you since we were young. I know what bothers you and ticks you off.”

The demigod just rolled his eyes at her words. Why was she acting so innocently at this? As if she didn’t know…

“Alright, I know...We needed to talk...I’m sorry.” She paused. “I’m sorry, forgive me, forgive me for any ill I’ve done to you. My acts have hurt you, and I fully realize that.”

He paused at that, now finally placing his eyes on her face. Her face was stern, but he could touch the sorrow pouring from her words.

“Hina...” She was asking forgiveness, but for what crime? Which one?

“That’s what you chose. I have to respect your decision.” And he did, he did...He eventually forgot about her...But then this masquerade nonsense just had to occur.

“I know, but the more I think of it, the more I feel it wasn’t a good decision. I can’t stop turning at night thinking about it. That I should have gone to you...Even Rangi noticed.”

 _Rangi._ He remembered him well, as he looked over the skies and told him the stories of old, of creation, of him being the father to them all...And to him as well.

“And what he’d say?”

“Oh, he spoke with Tangaroa, and with me, but I just, well, I knew better than to behave like that. It was dumb, I guess it is...It’s not like you acted in any way...”

He bit his lip as he heard her words.

“I kept on with my duty with the moon, no problem, but Tangaroa suggested for me to move here.”

“Here, at this island? Amongst the human? In this mountain?”  
  
“This mountain, specifically. Apparently I think at this point I’m at a perfect stance to call and motion the moon without any difficulty, and they were interested in knowing what was occurring here, on the land, once you pulled the islands, after Te Fiti did her job. At first it was empty, but then the humans came...”  
  
“Do you mind them?”  
  
She shook her head at that.

“No, they’re calm and peaceful. They never inquired more about me, or Rau...But I’m sure more than one had certain doubts.”

“Doubts.” And she was calm about the possible idea that they could any day discover her secret... _Then again, it’s not like she’s a good hider. Every time she needs to go she leaves in the most obvious manner…_

“It’s not like it’s bad anyway. I thought, now that I’m here, amidst the humans, maybe I could find you, and tell you the truth...And I finally did.”

 _But by no chance of your own._ But he couldn’t blame it entirely on her, perhaps her duties didn’t allow her to stray far from the island, perhaps she was... _locked_ to perform her duties only on the island and couldn’t leave it. Te Fiti was stuck in her island, too.

“Well, here we are...And here I am.”

“And here I am.”

“...Are we going to just repeat each other simple dialogue in an attempt to make it deep?”

She chuckled.

“Well, it’s implied to often work.” She paused and pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. “But that’s no what we’re here for. I must tell you.”  
  
“I’m all ears.”  
  
She then moved, alarming him in the process, but his shock was in vain, for she simply approached him just to tuck away his hair behind his ears.

“ _All ears.”_

 _Well, her sense of humor isn’t gone, at least._ Maybe if the two combined forces they’d just joke with each other till morning.

“Alright, then, I think I made the wrong choice.” She didn’t waste words, at least.

“You chose that, and I understand, maybe you won’t find me such attractive as a husband and...”

“Let me finish.” She held a hand up. “I was young, and didn’t know better, and would’ve preferred to focus on the moon...But on the other hand, nobody said that you cannot have both your duties and your lover.”

He clenched his teeth at the last word, but the more he thought, the more her words sounded coherent. After all, Rangi and Papa could attest to that.

“So, then...Then...You still care…?”

“Maui, Maui...When did I ever stop? You think I was somebody else as Rau?” She sighed. “I never stopped, even if some say that it is not good to love someone for so long, if the person is gone.”

“They say that.”

“So then...”

“...You still care.”

She smiled.

“And so do you.”

Could they still work it out, though? Could it still be the same? Some things had changed, yet others…

“You wanna try it again?”

“If you’re ready for it...”

He paused, but he looked back at his hook, another idea cooked up in his mind.

“You wanna do something fun with it? This could work. Just, just for this night, we go out and do it...”  
  
“Do what?”

“...Do you trust me?”

She nodded, and at that he slightly cheered. With a wave of his hook, a giant eagle stood in his place. The bird looked expectantly at the woman, and while initially she seemed shocked, she later calmed his doubts with a smile.

“Sure.”


	7. Can you feel the love tonight

She woke up once she felt a crushing sensation in her stomach, once the light left a burning itch in her eyelids. She knew she was awake, or at least, she felt it, even though her eyes were still closed and her body had not yet made a move.

But it felt warm, she could feel the tingling pulse of her blood running through her body, and her arms and legs begging to move. Slowly, lazily, with the last drops of sleep still hanging from her eyes, Moana moved.

She shook her head, and then pushed herself up, only to then notice what was clinging at her chest: Heihei, its feathers softly tickling Moana’s skin.

“Heihei...I told you to stop doing that...”

She grabbed the rooster and put it aside, the animal clucking all the while. Based on the silence of her hut, either it was very early or everybody was sleeping late. She felt a shudder surround her, but she wondered why was she nervous. Last night things had gone smoothly, at least she hoped that had been the outcome of Maui and Hina’s chat. She had preferred to leave them in the sanctity of their privacy, so she had no clue if the conversation had a positive outcome or not. She had gone to sleep before Maui ever came back from the mountain.

 _But this was the better choice. They needed to sort out their differences._ Maybe she was simply too tired and making up scenarios in her head, and Maui was possibly breaking fast with the locals while Rau was smirking to the side, jubilant at seeing her old flame back.

Yeah, she’d better shape her thoughts around those possibilities. With that said, she rose, stretched herself a bit, and then walked out of the hut.

Well, the island was not _empty,_ but it certainly wasn’t peaceful. Alarmed villagers whispering amongst one another, running to different fales back and forth, children being grouped together…

Moana went towards the person nearest by to her and asked her what was all the commotion about.

“What’s happening?”

The elderly man shook violently his head as he tried to search for words.

“It-it’s the sea. It’s so wild and violent, we’re sure a seaquake will happen any moment...”

“Wait, what?”

She felt the old man and rushed towards the shore, not caring if the villagers called out her name. It there was somebody who could see any problem with the sea, it was her of all people.

Moana stopped suddenly once she arrived at the bay and stopped herself by digging her heels deep into the wet sand. She adjusted her sight to view properly what was occurring in front of her, and she ducked as a wave suddenly hit her.

“Hey! What’s up with that!?” She howled as she shook her wet mane. “What is going on!?”

The water was hesitant, uncertain. The tide rolled back and forth, falling and rising, without a stop. A wave could erupt at one moment, then vanish at the next. Then spray hit her face, the salt hurting her eyes.

“What is up with you!?” But after screaming, she realized she’d better approach the ocean with friendliness. “Come on, it’s me, don’t you recognize me? Moana...”

But the sea roared and shook, and the girl could only do much but reel back. She had never seen the sea so unstable and moody before, and if she wasn’t careful the tide would pull her. If this continued on for a prolonged time, A-te-lepo would be engulfed by water.

So what could she do? Well, first things first, she would probably need to place her boat on ground, far from the shore, for it not the water would split the wood in minutes. So she ran back to the center of the village and asked for help.

Once the canoe was properly settled away from the ocean could Moana speak with Kekepania.

“I have no idea why is this happening. These other days everything was so nice and calm and suddenly this...I’ve never seen the ocean act like that.”

“I tell you, it’s Te Ka. It has returned, and is ready to plot its revenge.”

“Nonsense.” Moana decried the elder’s accusation, how could he know? “I told you, Te Ka is gone for sure, and the ocean is my friend, it would never hurt me...”

“And how are you so sure? Are we to believe you conjured up this mess?”+

“Of course not, but I know the ocean better than anyone, and it could not...Could not happen. This couldn’t be...”

Just then she noticed something odd about the situation.

“Have you seen Maui?”

The chief looked at her with her head titled.

"We thought he’d be with you...”

So Maui was missing...And last night, with Hina... _Oh._

She ran out of the fale and did not stop until she arrived to the top of the mountain, and effectively, the scene in front of her confirmed her doubts: the tapa weave had been left unattended, the dirt in the earth had been scattered, and a few feathers were sprayed around the ground.

Her fists trembled with anger at such a display: it was obvious that the pair running away had a connection with the change of the sea. How could it be? The girl could not come up with a strong enough theory, but she was sure they were the cause of it.

But, on the other hand, could she really blame them? It was obvious at this point the two wanted to restart what they originally had, that muddy relationship that now only lived in their memories; that she was sure Maui would want to relive again.

Romance is so complicated. She wouldn’t be so annoyed about this if their flight did not have the consequence of the sea turning against her. Now she was stranded in an island and could not have a way to leave it.

How could they have run away? She kicked the sand as she thought of the possibilities. They only had one canoe, hers, and it was untouched, so it obviously meant either they hid on the island or they ran off using Maui’s magic. But based on the feathers scattered around, the idea that they flew away is more plausible than anything.

_After all, they would want some privacy I imagine; and they would not find it in the island. But the sea is too dangerous to swim in now, so he couldn’t have transformed into a whale or a shark to swim…_

Yeah, the most possible outcome would be that they flew off in Maui’s eagle form. And yet, she still wondered what was the connection between Hina and the sea.

Moana shook her head. Whatever the connection was, it had to wait; for now she had a new mission to attend; once again, search for Maui and now his lover and bring them back to the island, to turn the seas stable again. She descended from the mountain trying to think of ways to change the outcome of her situation.

But how could she do it? She could not fly, and it would be suicide to embark on the boat with the tide so dangerous now. But she couldn’t just sit down and wait for them to return; they could take ages to ever come back…

_If only I could fly, like Maui…_

Well, no matter, she could think of a solution. Perhaps, if she could just take the sail of her canoe, tie it up with more wooden poles, maybe it could reflect a bird’s wings, and maybe that could help her fly...The only downside would be if the contraption did not work, she would plunge to her death.

“ _Such a grim idea.”_

She turned at that voice. That voice could only be…

“Granmma!?”

There she was, sitting calmly amidst the rushes, glowing and translucent amidst the green. And, like always, that cheeky little grin was plastered over her face, laughing over a joker only she was the witness of.

“I see things have gotten a little more intense since I last saw you.”

The girl walked towards the spirit and gave her a slight hug. She could not properly describe the sensation of it, but it was warm and inviting, a blanket of comfort, and that was enough for Moana to embrace the touch.

“I see the sea is a little moody. Did you two have a fight?”

“I don’t understand it, but I have this idea that it’s tied to...Aah, granmma, you won’t believe it, but in this island, Maui and I have found...”

“Yes, Hina. She’s quite a thing.”  
  
“You know!?”  
  
“My dear, once I passed on I’ve managed to catch on with all the latest gossip. That the moon goddess likes to lounge around is no surprise to anyone.”

“And Maui and her had something back in the day.”

“Oh yes, such a love story. It’d make Rangi and Papa envious...”

“I think they want to start something again, but...”

Her granmma clicked her tongue as she heard that, but she did not seem to be annoyed by it.

“They were young, they felt they could conquer the world, young love makes people think they can own the world and do all sorts of crazy things. Why, did I ever tell about the time your grandpa and I went searching for sharks one night?”

“Yes, granny.”

“Well, add to that a pair of gods that age much slower than humans do, and you’ve got a lot of problems.”

The way her granmma spoke, it seemed to suggest Maui in a certain way hadn’t matured properly. Which, would make sense she supposed. Those 1000 years he spent in a cave probably did not help.

“I thought it’d be a good idea to see them get together again...I mean, it’s obvious he has issues, and if this makes him happy...”

“Oh, it does. It definitely does.”

“But I’m still wondering about Hina and the waves.”

“Oh, that’s easy, Moana. You see, the moon reflects the mood of the waves, and in a way helps the tide. Without a moon, the tides have no control, and are therefore unable to properly behave. I think last night you saw how the moon seemed to suddenly vanish at one point.”  
  
“I was asleep, but yes, I can see that happening.”  
  
Her grandmother then got up, and signaled for the girl to get closer. As she did, the spirit materialized in her hand something that resembled a little bracelet.

“You only need to tell Hina to put the moon back in its place, but you need to find her...”

“I can’t go into the boat, the tide is too...”  
  
“I know, that’s why I’m giving you this.” She placed the bracelet in Moana’s left wrist. “Use it to your advantage, it will allow you to find Maui without having to stay in contact with the sea...Either way, you won’t drown at least.”

Moana sighed. She knew this had to be done, but she wished for her to find a way to touch the ocean again, and reaffirm it, but as it was, she’d be asking for her hand to be chopped off.

“How did you get this bracelet, anyway?”

Her gramma smiled widely.

“Let’s say I’m the popular girl up there. And believe me, they are not happy with what Hina’s done. But she’s acting like a schoolgirl, all rushed hormones.” Then she stopped, and passed a hand over Moana’s hair. “You just find them, and tell them how it is. It’ll be safe, they’ll understand.”

She smiled at her gramma, and gave her a final goodbye hug before focusing on the bracelet. It was composed of little jade stones, held together by a brown string. She wondered how it could work, but once she began thinking, suddenly, without notice, she was hovering above the ground!

She gasped. No matter where she moved, her feet would not touch the ground, her body floating a few feet over the earth.

“This will help avoiding contact with the water. Now go, you need to save the world again!”

“Let’s hope this time it’s less severe.”

And she flew, for the first and possibly last time in her life; savoring every second of it.

 

 

 

–

 

 

 

They danced amidst the stars and kissed the sky, all the while she was holding on to Maui’s strong eagle neck. The bird flew like a tiger amidst the sea of stars, swift and fast with just the tip of elegance dangling from his wings. He swirled and twirled, and she would just cling harder to his neck whenever he did as such. They were so close to the stars, they could simply touch them and possibly take them for their own, well, at least she could, unless his wings could bend and hold alike fingers did.

Finally, the flight stopped, and he landed on warm sand. She didn’t seem to recognize the island, but it definitely was not A-te-lepo (otherwise, why would he fly away so far?), the bare earth surrounding them forming a silent and wide scenery for them to enjoy. He had just chosen the island on a whim, deciding to flee far from A-te-lepo, to get a good view of the world beyond her home.

The home she had chosen, anyhow.

She turned to look back at him, to stare into his warm, wide eyes. He could not speak as an eagle, but his eyes told her enough. And then, to top it all off, her hand laid on his head…

At that point he felt it’d be better to address her and probably break the ice, though, so with a shrug and a jump, he was in his default form.

“So, here we are, moon goddess. End of the trip.”

“It was nice. I never figured you’d be so big as a bird...”

“Heh, well, the proper size for the proper man.”

She was taller and bigger than Moana (especially in those... _wide_ hips), but definitely small when compared to the demigod. Maui noticed how she hadn’t moved her hand away from his cheek, even after he had changed of form. Hina just noticed then, and slowly lowered her hand. She began then talking while observing the horizon.

“I’ve never been outside of A-te-lepo...Well, outside of being with the gods...I’ve never been...”

He noticed right then how her hand slightly shook, and her legs trembled a few steps here and there. Just in case, he placed a hand over her shoulders.

“If you don’t feel like it, we can always ret-”

“No.” She seemed firm in that moment. “It was a good idea to leave. You needed it, I needed it...Say, don’t you think the pale sand here resembles the one in our youth? We used to play so much in it...”

He took a quick look around. _Now that she’s saying it…_

“You were much smaller.” And he could see Hina’s younger self then, in the spot right where her current self was; grinning and winking at him; reminding him of his own curly-haired uncertain youth.

“And you were much snottier.”

And she pulled a curl of his hair, much like how she tended to do so back in the day, where their only worries were for the days to not be so short...

“Oy, that hurts!” No, it didn’t hurt, not at all; but the game had to be fun, after all, didn’t it? They had to play _pretend._ She chuckled once more, and that his signal, for him to pounce over her and for the two of them to fall on the sand.

“Maui, stop, please!” But between every word she announced a laugh sprung out of her lips, addictive and melodious. His fingers began traveling over her belly and armpits to release more of those contagious laughs.

“Hah, seems the mighty demigod found another treasure trove...”

She laughed so much to the point she started to cry; but once he let his guard down, she did not waste any time and jumped at him to give him similar punishment.

And then it was _his_ time to roar and laugh.

Once he calmed down, he placed a hand over her body and got her closer to him. Hina then snuggled up in his chest, even if it wasn’t that cold to warrant that reaction.

“Wow...I feel like, like we’re back home, way before any nonsense happened.”

“Yeah...It’s strange.”

She looked up at him, waiting, expecting, for the next words to come out of his mouth. He had forgotten those long nights they spent looking at one another, with only the stars observing them.

“You think we would’ve worked together?”

She passed a hand over his hair twirling a curl with her finger.

“You say it didn’t work last time?”

“I was young last time, young and stupid...”  
  
“We all are, the idea is for us to not be old and stupid. I guess being all those years on A-te-lepo has made me change, think stuff over...”

“I can tell.”

She rose her head slightly to give him a curious look. Then, she smiled satisfied.

“She’s been a good influence on you.”

“Who?”

“Moana.”  
  
“Ah, yeah. She’s great. She saved us all.”  
  
“...She’s a sweet girl, she saved me from the eel...”  
  
““But you’re a goddess. You couldn’t stand against a simple eel?”  
  
“As Hina, yes, but as Rau, I’m more limited. I am a human woman in that shape, and humans aren’t nearly as powerful as we are...And to stand against a supernatural monster...”  
  
“...Yeah, that’s true. I guess I see the logic in it.”

“As for you, you...You’re more thoughtful.”

“Hah, you’re trying to tell me the great Maui is not a thoughtful demiguy?”

Hina chuckled as she snuggled up more to him. She was so warm and soft next to him...

“Your eyes shine like stars...Boy is that corny.”

“It is...But you like corny, don’t lie to yourself...And so do I.”

She then approached his head, and gave him a soft peck on the cheek. Wow, when had been the last time since they kissed!? Eons, probably. And she gave him a kiss oh so casually…

“Wow.”

“Wow, yourself.”

Yes, this, this was definitely the start of something, the rebirth of the unfullfilled, ready to be taken again…

“I missed you, Maui. I never stopped thinking about you, wondering, regretting... I’m so glad you’re alright, after all this Te Fiti nonsense.” And she gave him a hug, embracing his massive chest in her arms.  
  
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t thinking the same thing, when I was about to be devoured by Tamatoa...”

Her hair stood up when she heard that.

“Oh, you met again? You two have a bad history.”  
  
He rolled his eyes at her tone.

“Explain “ _bad_ ”. He’s just gotten bigger and meaner than before.”

“You’re just bitter he’s gone on to newer things, cooler things...”

“Shinier things.”

She laughed softly at that, never leaving her hand from his face. Slowly, she began to crawl upwards.

“Well, I can’t blame him, we all got our little treasures and hobbies that we’re protective over...And we don’t want to let them go...”

She was so close to him now, he could feel her breath all over his face. So close…

“...Did I ever tell you that the night accentuates your features nicely?”

She just sighed as they kissed, her head violently crashing against his. Remembering the old kisses, savoring the old flavors they had oh so dearly missed. The warmth, the sand, the wetness, the tension…

Once they broke up, they began panting. Hina stared back at him with confusion in her eyes.

“We’re not going to...”  
  
“NAAAAH. This is a Disney story. Gotta make it suitable for the kiddies...”  
  
“...Oh, true.”  
  
“You get used to these type of jokes.”

Either way, that kiss had come at the right time, and bring back those happy long nights they had spent with each other, promising one another the world, the land, the skies...It was a nice little dream while it lasted.

Yet, it could be prolonged…

“Hina...I, I’d rather...I wanna be with you. I don’t want to be separated again from you. You can come with me in more adventures, with Moana, or...I just...I goofed up, but I learnt now...I, I love you.”

She hugged him at that.

“I know, I know, oh, Maui. My Maui. I feel...I feel we can. I want to be with you...But what if, what if the moon calls me? There’ll come a day when I will have to leave for it, and won’t return for a long time...”

“I’ll wait. I can always wait. I mean, heck, we reunited after who knows for how long, who can say we can’t wait a little more?” He grinned. “I may even pay you a little visit to the moon, nobody denies the great Maui anything?”  
  
“Not even the moon?”

“Nope!”

She laughed, and then threw her arms over his neck, making him yelp in the process.

“This is the Maui I know.”

He paused at her words, and then smiled, placing his hands over her head and back.

“He’s barely changed, babe.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my life has kinda turned upside down in the last months, and I've really lost the passion for fanfic, tbh. Life is really overwhelming at the moment, and I find fanfiction rather immature now...I'd much prefer to focus on my original writing or, just anything else. i feel rather down.
> 
> But I don't want to leave you guys hanging, so, at least, have a little bit of what I wrote of this, since you guys were very sweet and probably deserve a proper ending. So, huh, enjoy, I guess.
> 
> Sorry for it seeming to be randomly chopped. I just realized now it looks very unprofessional to have the two disjointed scenes, but I have no drive to finish this story, sorry.

He had come to loath the sand after all these years, for it had been its only companion when stranded on that island, but now, Maui was grateful for the soft bed it made underneath him, warming Hina and him in the process.

The demigod could not remember when they had fallen asleep, and how, considering all the... _fun_ they had over the night. Games, and exploring, and just getting to know his goddess once again, her memory gone blurry in the later years, and now, with her body in his palms, he was ready to track every bit of flesh he had missed and overlooked.

He grinned at remembering all the discovery he made. _And I claimed we wouldn’t...Oh well, it wouldn’t be the first time some G-rated fun passes by in a mouse film._ He felt a struggle behind him, and the demigod turned to see Hina’s dark curls elevating over his back to reach up to him.

“Come back to sleep.”

“Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty.” He pat tenderly her thick hips, holding on to them as her arms crawled over his own to get up.

“I don’t want to.” She purred, softly. “I want to sleep a little more. Let me cuddle with you...” She left a lazy finger trail over his tattoos. “You’re so big, Maui, so big and comfy...I could spend the night hugging you.”  
  
“Careful there, tigress, you wouldn’t wanna crush me, would you?”  
  
“Oh, I leave you to do the heavy lifting stuff.” She started, but then she laughed as she laid her arms over his neck.

“You know, Maui, I’ve been thinking...And I think we can do it. I think we can make this work.”

Was she suggesting what he thought? Did that mean…

“After tonight, the two of us can start on our new adventures...Maybe Moana can come with us, if she wants to.”

“WAIT.”  
  
“Moana!”  
  
“Mo!? What are you doing here!?”  
  
“On an important mission, as usual. It’s a matter of life or death.”

 

 

“I have already chosen.”

The flower was on the left side of her hair, and it reminded Moana so much of her mother...Even the way her and Maui held on reminded her of the love her parents bore.

“I’m so happy for you.”  
  
“It’s thanks to you, Moana. If it wasn’t for you we’ve would never properly gotten together.”  
  
“Yes, Mo...Thank you.”  
  
“You’re welcome.”  
  
“...Really, though, you just keep improving my life more and more. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”  
  
“Oh, Maui..."


End file.
